Don’t be surprised if tax refund comes a little later

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(Bob Andres, bandres@ajc.com)

You might have to wait a little longer for your tax refund this year to pay off those Christmas gifts.

Revisions to income tax forms needed to file your 2012 returns haven’t been made to reflect changes in the new fiscal cliff legislation that just passed Congress, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

That means new forms will go out later and the usual mid-January start for filing – and subsequent refunds – will be delayed, according to a CNN Money report on the IRS scramble:

While the IRS has published Form 1040 for 2012, several lines are listed as “reserved.” The designation is a “placeholder” for several fiscal cliff provisions, an agency spokesman said. The IRS has yet to publish an instruction booklet for filling out the tax forms, leaving tax preparers in a holding pattern.

Meanwhile, employers won’t have to wait to start withholding 6.2 percent of wages to satisfy a higher Social Security tax following the expiration of  a temporary 2-percentage-point payroll tax cut that was in effect for 2011 and 2012, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The IRS has issued new payroll tax withholding tables for employers that reflect changes in the fiscal cliff legislation. According to the IRS:

“Employers should start using the revised withholding tables and correct the amount of Social Security tax withheld as soon as possible in 2013, but not later than Feb. 15, 2013,” the IRS said.

What impact will the delay in tax refunds and the increase in payroll taxes have on your wallet?