If you are 64, the IRS has a Valentine for you!

The Beatles sang:

When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings. Bottle of wine....
... When I'm 64

Here's the answer: if you are 64, the IRS has a valentine for you!

The TaxWise blog reports:

IRS Quick Alert: Reject 204 Update

Please be advised that the correction to Error Reject Code 0204 will be implemented nationwide on February 14, 2011 for the 6:00 p.m. drain. The correction will allow the age 64 of the primary and/or spouse to be accepted on the return.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

This is rather cryptic, but it seems to mean that we will not be able to efile tax returns for taxpayers who are age 64 until February 14.

This is a bit mystifying--hard to imagine how this particular delay can be blamed on Congressional procrastination.

Why should 64-year-olds be singled out for this delay in processing their efiles?

It is also not clear if this is just true for efiles via TaxWise (the software program used by many commercial tax preparers as well as VITA sites) or if this is true for all efiles. [Update: As I suspected, this appears to true for ALL efiles. See, e.g., the Intuit community here.]

Fortunately, we have apparently not had any 64-year-old taxpayers at our VITA site thus far this year.

If we get any 64-year taxpayers this coming week, I am not looking forward to having to explain why their refunds are going to be delayed for over two weeks longer than everyone else.

Maybe we should play this video for them:



After all, the song ends:

Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four.

A hat tip to my husband for suggesting this song!