WASHINGTON — The deadline to have your Federal taxes filed will remain April 15th, but under new directives issued to the IRS no refunds are to be issued before October 15, 2015. This means that early filers who normally receive their refunds around the beginning of February will have to wait an additional 7 months longer than normal to get the money owed to them.

The directive to delay tax refunds is being championed by the Obama administration, which claims that the measure will save the Federal Government billions of dollars. Every year the Federal Government returns around 350 billion dollars of what it has collected. By withholding repayment until October, the government stands to save an estimated 30 billion dollars on borrowing costs and additional interest generated from the withheld funds.

The change is not to be applied equally though. The new rebate delay only affects those who have filed for individual income tax and payroll tax refunds. Large corporations and small businesses will still be eligible to receive whatever tax is owed to them by the federal government within normal historic timeframes.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest defended the upcoming changes to IRS tax refund policy. “It’s a minor cost saving measure initiated by the administration with bipartisan support”, said Earnest. “The recommendation to initiate this new refund structure came out of the Committee On Ways And Means, under the leadership of Republican Congressman David Camp. Absolutely zero dollars are going to be kept that is owed to hardworking Americans. All you are seeing here is a policy change streamlining the way in which the IRS structures tax refund repayments. Americans who find this objectionable can always opt to bring their tax withholding more in line with the actual taxes they will owe in the future.”