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It's kind of appalling what you don't know about filing your own tax return.

The Internal Revenue Service started the nation's tax season when it began accepting electronic tax returns at the end of January. More than 153 million individual tax returns expected to be filed in 2017. The first refunds claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) start arriving this week.

"For this tax season, it's more important than ever for taxpayers to plan ahead," says IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "People should make sure they have their year-end tax statements in hand, and we encourage people to file as they normally would, including those claiming the credits affected by the refund delay. Even with these significant changes, IRS employees and the entire tax community will be working hard to make this a smooth filing season for taxpayers."

Granted, the IRS makes it a bit difficult for taxpayers to keep things straight by tweaking the process each year. This year, it's going to be particularly tough for folks who don't save their prior-year tax returns. If you're changing tax filing software or tax preparers this year, you're going to need the adjusted gross income from your 2015 tax return in order to file electronically -- as the Electronic Filing Pin is has been eliminated to prevent filing fraud.

Some changes, however, have more immediate benefits. This year, you don't have to file your federal tax return until April 18 this year, thanks to April 15 landing on a Saturday and Washington, D.C.'s Emancipation Day celebration taking place on Monday, April 18. That gives you some time to work out a plan of attack, if you haven't already, and find some places to cut into this year's tax return.

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Your Ignorance of IRS Rules and Free Tax Software Is Costly - TheStreet.com