TAMPA, Fla. — With the start of this year’s tax season starting Monday, the IRS and tax officials are looking at a more normal year.

The pandemic delayed the start of tax season two years ago and last year, refunds were delayed because of all the stimulus payments.

"Fingers crossed we are back to a more normal cycle with the IRS,” said Steve Ribble with Guardian Accounting Group in Tampa. “And if you have all the documents that match up to your social security number when you do file, hopefully we are going to get those refunds in two to three weeks like we normally would."

Ribble also said taxpayers should file their returns as early as possible.

He said the earlier taxpayers file, the better the protection from someone stealing a tax return. 

Once filed, the IRS blocks out the social security number on a filer’s return so no one else can fraudulently use it.

And with pandemic changes over, the IRS is saying to expect lower refunds as things like dependent child care credits have returned to normal after providing some families with thousands in tax savings last year.

“The IRS is telling people to expect lower refunds this year,” Ribble said. “And we are reiterating that with clients that you're probably not going to get the refund you got last year."

Also, the IRS has most recently added 5,000 new customer service representatives who were trained in taxpayer rights and technical account management issues and is chipping away at the hundreds of thousands of unprocessed returns from last tax season.

The filing deadline for most taxpayers to submit their 2022 tax returns, file extensions and pay money owed is April 18. That is because the normal filing date of April 15 falls on a weekend and the District of Columbia’s Emancipation Day holiday falls on April 17.

Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Oct. 16 to file.