State & Federal Tax forms won't be available til Feb 1st?

Sorry, the law that says that you have to file on a particular day has been on the books almost as long as Thanksgiving. You knew it was coming every year. The law that specifies the last day that the earnings statements can be mailed is similar.

What makes you think that "you're supposed to have 3 -1/2 months"?

Your thinking is what's screwed up. You can estimate 90% of your tax liability in any completed and reported pay period. There shouldn't be anything to "save up". If so, you're not doing it right.

The employer should be able to get their final figures checked and double-checked within 10 days of the end of the calendar year. You really want that mailing and reporting to be right - because if you get the wrong figure (because "they screwed up"), you might the one in a big hurt. The employer might pay a penalty. And so will you. That's why the full month is allotted to them.

Good luck.

Not true. Many of the forms are already available at least on the internet, and many are available at libraries. And anyway, what's this time to raise the money for what you owe? You should have most if not all of it already paid in through withholding or quarterly payments.

The IRS isn't accepting returns until Jan 31. The only affect that has on you is that your refund might be a little later than if they had accepted the in mid-January - and since you need to " raise the money you owe", you apparently don't have a refund coming anyway.

Who says you're supposed to have 3-1/2 months?

Wrong on several counts. The IRS did not screw up. The federal government shut down. It does not take 3.5 months to do a tax return. No where does it say you are entitled to 3.5 months. Tax season starts when the IRS accepts returns. Most forms are available you can start your return. The IRS will start accepting them Jan 31 not Feb 1. You should not need to "raise" the money you owe. That is something you are obligated to pay as the year goes by.

Relax a little at this time in your life and things will work out just as well as in the past tax filing season once the IRS does start the 2014 tax filing season on January 31 2014 as they are scheduled to do at this time.

Hope that you find the above enclosed information useful. 01/13/2014

You're not "supposed to have 3 1/2 months" and you can start raising the money now; you don't need to wait for the forms.

No one screwed up anything. The IRS is getting extra time to prepare to handle tax returns that have to calculate a tax credit for buying insurance.

I believe you can file beginning January 31.

Not a bad idea. The only suggestion that I can make is, if you are really gung ho to have this done, why don't you write to your Congressional representatives and urge all of your friends to do the same and have this law changed.

You should actually be saving up for your taxes all year rather than waiting until the new year to begin saving them.