IRS: Filing season delayed for some

The IRS announced Monday that taxpayers claiming a pair of popular education credits will have a slightly later starting date for filing returns.

Processing for the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit will now start in mid-February, the IRS said, instead of the Jan. 30 opening of the filing season.

The tax-collecting agency said that it discovered during routine testing that it had to alter computer systems that process the form used to claim the education credits. Other provisions dealing with education, including deductions for tuition and student loan interest, can be accepted this week. 

On average, less than a quarter of taxpayers claiming the affected education credits have done so by mid-February, the IRS added. 

The American Opportunity Tax Credit, which Democrats fought to have extended during the recent "fiscal cliff" debate, includes a 100 percent credit on the first $2,000 of college expenses for qualified families.

During last year's fiscal debate, the IRS urged Congress to wrap up its work quickly in order to stave off any delays to the filing season.

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