One budget bailout for many families — the early federal income tax refund — is a no-go in 2008, thanks to the down-to-the-wire tax haggling in Congress. But given the late date, the Internal Revenue Service likely will delay kicking off the tax season, and families who like to file early won’t get their refunds by the end of January. But the IRS has said that passing the tax fix this late in the year could mean that up to $40 million in refunds for up to 17 million taxpayers would be delayed. The IRS has said that it would need about seven weeks to reprogram and test its systems for new tax rules before it could process electronic and paper tax returns. But Hunt said returns would be prepared but not filed if the IRS must delay the opening of the tax season. read more