The IRS announced today (IR-2007-03) that it will begin processing both e-file and paper tax returns on Feb. 3 that include claims for the major “extender” provisions, including deductions for state and local sales taxes, higher education tuition and fees, and educator expenses. Any other tax returns for individuals that do not claim the extender provision can be filed as normal this month.  The Feb. 3 date allows the IRS enough time to update its systems to accommodate the tax law changes without disrupting other operations tied to the tax filing season.:

“The vast majority of taxpayers will not be affected by these changes, and they will not notice any difference as they start filing tax returns this month,” IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said. “The IRS urges people claiming the extender deductions to file electronically to reduce the chance of making an error.” Based on filings last year, about 930,000 tax returns claimed any of the three main extender provisions by Feb. 1. Overall, the IRS expects to process about 136 million individual tax returns this year.