With just over two weeks left in the 2014 calendar year, the Senate finally made up its mind about the tax extenders bill. The bill, which extends the life of a number of tax breaks through 2014, passed the Senate 76 to 16. Only 60 votes were needed for approval.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) referred to the bill as "quite literally the best we could do." Apparently, the best they could do is pass legislation that lasts for only a short while: the bill, which is only applicable to the 2014 tax year, expires on December 31, 2014. Yes, that's just two weeks.
The provisions included in the bill had previously expired at the end of 2013. You can see a list of tax extenders which might have affected you here: those provisions have now been extended through the end of the year. They will not be renewed for the tax year 2015 unless the new Congress takes the matter up again.
The bill now goes to President Obama, who is expected to sign it into law this week.
The lag in passing the bill - which is retroactive to January 1, 2014 - will certainly delay the opening of tax season. The IRS Commissioner has not yet announced a start date to the 2015 season: I would expect a late January to early February date. Stay tuned.
