January 18, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 The Internal Revenue Service opened the 2012 tax filing season by announcing that taxpayers have until April 17 to file their tax returns. The IRS encourages taxpayers to e-file as it is the best way to ensure accurate tax returns and get faster refunds. The IRS also announced a number of improvements to help make this tax season easy for taxpayers. This includes new navigation features and helpful information on IRS. gov and a new pilot to allow taxpayers to use interactive video to get help with tax issues. Taxpayers will have until Tuesday, April 17 to file their 2011 tax returns and pay any tax due because April 15 falls on a Sunday, and Emancipation Day, a holiday observed in the District of Columbia, falls this year on Monday, April 16. According to federal law, District of Columbia holidays impact tax deadlines in the same way that federal holidays do. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Oct. 15 to file their 2011 tax returns. The IRS will begin accepting e-file and Free File returns on Jan. 17, 2012. Additional details about e-file and Free File will be announced later this month. IRS Free File provides options for free brand-name tax software or online fillable forms plus free electronic filing. Everyone IRS extends tax filing deadline to April 17 can use Free File to prepare a federal tax return. Taxpayers who make $57,000 or less can choose from approximately 20 commercial software providers. There is no income limit for Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic version of IRS paper forms, which also includes free e-filing. The IRS also reminds paid tax return preparers they must have and include a preparer tax identification number on all returns they prepare. All PTINs must be renewed for 2012. Tax return preparers may obtain or renew PTINs online. The IRS continues to focus on taxpayer service. The best way for taxpayers to get answers to their questions is by visiting the IRS website at IRS.gov. The IRS has updated the front page of the IRS website to make it easier for taxpayers to get key forms and information and file tax returns. The front page also has links to taxpayer-friendly videos on the IRS YouTube channel. More improvements are planned for IRS.gov in the months ahead. Last year, the IRS unveiled IRS2Go, its first Smartphone application, which lets taxpayers check on the status of their tax refund and obtain helpful tax information. The IRS reminds Apple users that they can download the free IRS2Go application by visiting the Apple App Store. Android users can visit the Android Marketplace to download the free IRS2Go app. Individuals making $50,000 or less can use the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program for free tax preparation and, in many cases, free electronic filing. Individuals age 60 and older can take advantage of free tax counseling and basic income tax preparation through Tax Counseling for the Elderly. Information on these programs can be found at IRS.gov. For tax law questions or account inquiries, taxpayers can also call the toll-free number (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time) or visit a taxpayer assistance center, the locations of which are listed on IRS.gov. The IRS has begun a new pilot program where taxpayers can get assistance through two-way video conferencing. The IRS is conducting a limited roll out of this new video conferencing technology at 10 IRS offices and two other sites, and may expand to further sites in the future. A list of locations is available on IRS.gov. Once taxpayers file the federal return, they can track the status of their refunds by using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool, which taxpayers can get to using the IRS2Go phone app or from the front page of www.IRS.gov. Many people have heard the term occupational therapy at one time or another, but few seem to know exactly what it is. Richard Sica, an occupational therapist at Achieve Sports Medicine and Rehab, a family-owned business with clinics in Wyckoff and Waldwick, explained, “Occupational therapists work with men, women, and children to keep them as active, satisfied, and self-sufficient as possible.” According to Sica, occupational therapists help people achieve a high level of function and independence by working to improve strength, range of motion, or ability to perform a certain task. “OT’s also may work within the task What is occupational therapy? to ‘modify’ the task,” Sica continued. “An example of this would be the use of a fat pencil to allow a person with a weak grasp or pain from arthritis to better grip a pencil. Occupational therapists may also provide strategies to compensate for a person’s limitations, such as the use of a memory log for an individual with a memory deficit.” Occupational therapy is one of the fastest growing jobs in health care. Occupational therapists work in the fields of pediatrics, orthopedics, mental health, neurology, and geriatrics. For additional information, contact Achieve Sports Medicine and Rehab at (201) 493-7440 or (201) 891-0411.