During the Obama administration, the U.S. federal government implemented the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act. The PATH Act introduced 50 new tax credits as well as deductions and made several credits permanent. That included the Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC). One of the major purposes of the U.S. government behind the PATH Act 2024 Refund is to delay certain tax refunds and prevent fraudulent claims for the same. As a result, those who wish to claim EITC and CTC while filing tax returns are not able to receive their credits before February 15.
PATH Act 2024 Refund Dates
As the tax credit frauds under the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit were on the rise, the U.S. government initiated the PATH Act in 2015. Initially, major tax refunds were distributed after the taxpayers filed their tax returns which resulted in tax fraud. Those who claimed the EITC and CTC may show false earnings and the number of dependent children in the household. As a result, the taxpayers who are lawfully eligible to claim the EITC and CTC cannot receive their shares. To prevent these frauds, PATH Act was implemented which introduced 50 new credits and deductions and made some credits permanent.
As the EITC and CTC are refundable, a study reported that most of the tax filers were falsely claiming tax credits. With the implementation of the PATH Act 2024 Refund Dates, taxpayers cannot claim tax refunds before February 15. The U.S. citizens who are eligible to receive AOTC, EITC, and CTC may check their refund status on the official website of the IRS. Those who claimed the EITC and the CTC while filing their income tax returns may need to qualify for certain guidelines before the IRS issues their tax credits.
Path Act 2024 Refund Dates Quick Details
| Title | PATH Act 2024 Refund Dates |
| Country | The USA |
| Act Name | Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) |
| Department | Internal Revenue Service (IRS) |
| PATH Act implemented in | 2015 |
| Governed by | The Federal Government of the U.S. |
| Major Tax Credits | EITC, CTC, AOTC |
| Purpose of the act | To implement a delay in tax credit and to prevent tax fraud |
| Year | 2024 |
| Official website | irs.gov |
IRS AOTC, EITC, CTC Refund Status Check Under the PATH Act 2024
As per the PATH Act 2024, the IRS cannot distribute the AOTC, EITC, or CTC refunds before February 15. However, taxpayers who successfully filed their federal income tax returns can track their IRS AOTC, EITC, or CTC Refund Status. For that, the department provides a couple of means to the eligible taxpayers of the country.
Taxpayers can easily visit the official web portal of the IRS where’s my refund website. In addition to this, the refund status can also be checked by the IRS2Go mobile app. For that, the taxpayers need to have the social security number or individual taxpayer ID number (ITIN), their tax filing status, and the refund amount on the tax return.
Eligibility Criteria for the IRS PATH Act 2024 Refund
The IRS provides tax credits under the PATH Act 2024 to eligible citizens only. For that, the taxpayers who qualify the following eligibility criteria may receive the EITC or CTC in 2024:
- Taxpayers must have filed their federal income tax returns of the previous year.
- The IRS issues the EITC or CTC refund by the direct deposit. The taxpayers who choose to get their IRS tax refund by direct deposits are eligible for the refunds.
- The income tax returns of the taxpayers should not have any errors.
- If the IRS does not find any issues in the federal income tax returns of the taxpayers, then they are eligible for the refunds.
Changes Implemented by the PATH ACT 2024
Apart from implementing delays in tax credit distributions and preventing tax fraudulent, the PATH ACT took the following measures in certain tax credits:
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): For taxpayers who have three or more children, the PATH Act extended the credit amount from 40% to 45% of the total earned income.
- Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC): The PATH ACT has made the 15% threshold over $3,000 income to claim a refundable portion of the child tax credit. Previously, the threshold was planned to rise to $10,000 which was later significantly changed to $3,000.
- American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC): Initially, the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) used to provide a partially refundable credit of $2,500. This tax credit was available for the first four years of higher education of the students. The PATH ACT later made the AOTC permanent.
Other tax credit changes include the following:
- Educator Expense Deduction
- Mass Transit Exclusion
- Mortgage Debt Forgiveness
- State and Local Sales Tax Deduction
- Electric Vehicle Recharging Equipment Credit
- Computer Eligible for 529 Plan Distributions
- Wrongfully Incarcerated Exclusion
- Qualified Charitable Distributions from IRAs
IRS PATH ACT Refund Schedule 2024
Usually, taxpayers may claim their refunds within 21 days after filing the federal income tax returns. However, if a taxpayer has claimed EITC and CTC in their tax returns, the IRS may put their refunds on hold for various reasons. This is due to the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act. The department reviews the returns of the taxpayers to determine whether these returns are false or accurate.
As per the law, the IRS cannot distribute the PATH Act Refunds 2024 before February 15. The exact refund dates usually depend on how a taxpayer wants to receive their refunds. For the direct deposits, it may take up to 4-5 days. On the other hand, refunds through paper checks may take a longer time to arrive. Citizens can check their IRS tax refund on Where’s my refund? For more information regarding the PATH Act 2024 Refund, visit the official website of the IRS.
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