U.S. 2014 tax-filing season delayed up to two weeks: IRS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The start of the 2014 tax filing season will be delayed by one to two weeks early next year as a result of the government shutdown, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said on Tuesday.

The original tax filing start was scheduled for January 21, but the IRS said in a statement that the start date has been pushed back to between January 28 and February 4.

The 16-day shutdown came during the peak period for preparing computer filing systems for 2014, the IRS said.

"Readying our systems to handle the tax season is an intricate, detailed process, and we must take the time to get it right, said acting IRS commissioner Danny Werfel.

The delay marks the second year in a row that the IRS has been forced to start the filing season late. In January of this year, the 2013 tax season was delayed by the January 2 enactment of tax law changes made to resolve the so-called "fiscal cliff."