Don’t look now, but another season is upon us. This one doesn’t rely on phases of the moon or vernal or autumnal equinoxes.

When W-2s start being passed out, it’s the beginning of tax preparation season. On Jan. 23 the Internal Revenue Service started accepting returns. It will do so until the last return postmarked at midnight April 18.

“Following months of hard work, we successfully opened our processing systems today to start this year’s tax season,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on Jan. 23. “Getting to this point is a year-round effort for the IRS and the nation’s tax community.”

The IRS expects more than 70 percent of taxpayers to receive refunds. Last year, 111 million refunds were issued, with the average being $2,860.

Tax season runs long this year.

“Taxpayers get an extra three days to file because April 15 falls on a Saturday. Usually the deadline would move to the following Monday,” said Clay Sanford, an IRS spokesman. “But April 17 is Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia. So there will be three extra days to file.”

Marilyn Hartman, owner of Hartman Tax Service, 104 Pine Drive, and a 40-year veteran of the industry, said that while filing season has officially begun, “there are several informational forms that won’t go out until Jan. 30, like the 1099s.

“If you make money from investments or are self-employed you need a 1099.”

Hartman said the time spent gathering proper documentation “will help you avoid under- or overstated income, lost deductions and credits, or costly amended returns.”

“Preparation now will definitely reduce headaches during a possible IRS audit down the road,” said Hartman.

She recommends first-time clients gather the following:

Family composition information, including full names, Social Security numbers and birth dates;

Driver’s license or state ID cards for all adults and teens who drive;

Birth certificates and Social Security cards for younger dependents;

Last year’s return.

To document income, Hartman said taxpayers should have:

W-2s and 1099s;

Documentation of interest/dividend income, IRA distributions, self-employment income, gas rights and royalties, and K1 forms for estates, trusts and partnerships.

Expenses that need documentation include child care, interest on mortgages and property taxes, health care premiums and union dues.

Hartman said receipts for large purchases — cars, boats, lawn mowers — should also be included.

But no matter what the documentation, some refunds will be delayed. Sanford said returns that claim the earned income tax credit or the additional child tax credit will be among them.

“It’s required by Congress which passed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act in December 2015,” Sanford said.

“What it does is require the IRS to hold those refunds until Feb. 15 to give the IRS more time to detect fraud in the returns that claim those credits,” Sanford said.

Dewaine Gillott, owner and manager of Gillott-Jackson Hewitt, 324 S. Main St., said the reason for the extra attention is “There’s a lot of fraud out there. I’ve seen it.”

“In a lot of these early filers, people make up a W-2 form, file a tax return and get a huge refund,” Gillott said.

“The IRS is checking dependents, matching names to Social Security numbers,” Gillott said.

“The best advice I can give people expecting a refund is to use direct deposit and e-file your return. That’s going to be the fastest,” Sanford said.

He added that out of the 153 million tax returns expected to be filed this year, 80 percent will be e-filed.

That’s been quite a growth, especially since the e-filing option was only introduced in the late 1980s.

“Before the Internet, if you needed a tax form or a return, you would go to the post office or the library,” said Sanford. “Now, almost anything you need can be downloaded from the IRS website.”

“Say you want to know if you qualify for a home office deduction, you can go to the website,” he said.

The site also offers Publication 17 which lists what’s new in the tax code or filing process.

Unfortunately, what has made it easier to file returns or get information, has also made it easier to be hoodwinked.

During the days of paper returns, he said, “People would literally follow the mail trucks around and take Treasury checks from people’s mailboxes.”

Now, Sanford said identity theft and schemes run by people posing as IRS agents are on the rise.

“People need to be really careful of these scammers. They get more and more sophisticated every year,” Sanford said.

Callers can even fake an IRS callback number that can fool authorities.

“They will make demands for payment immediately. They use that shock value to get people to send them money and unfortunately it has tricked some people,” he said.

“A lot of people have fallen for these scams. It is very important to get the word out on what the IRS will or will not do,” said Sanford.

If scammers don’t cost taxpayers money, mistakes will.

The most common mistakes people make involve going too fast, especially if filing a paper return, Sanford said.

“With paper, it’s math errors or people forgetting to sign their return,” Sanford said.

Gillott said, “It’s been a slow start, people know the IRS is delaying early filers’ returns. And the deadline has been extended. People will procrastinate, especially the ones that owe money.”

“For me, the first two weeks of February and the first two weeks of April are the busiest,” he said.