The Internal Revenue Service will begin accepting federal income tax returns on Friday, January 31st. This date is 10 days later than the originally planned starting date of January 21st.

In October, shortly after the federal government reopened following a 16-day partial shutdown, the IRS announced that the shutdown had slowed its preparations for the upcoming filing season and that it would delay the start of the filing season.

The IRS is encouraging the use of e-file or Free File with direct deposit to receive refunds as quickly as possible. The IRS also says the April 15th tax return filing and payment deadline will not be changing.