Last Minute Tax Filing Tips

April 15th. Is there a day that makes American groan more? Yep, it is the annual tax filing deadline. Oh, the fun. If you have been procrastinating on your return, here is what you need to know.

First and foremost, you have a couple extra days to file this year. The usual April 15th deadline falls on a Saturday this year. As a result, the tax filing deadline is now the following Monday, April 17th.

Many people prefer not to rush when preparing taxes. After all, an error can cost you a lot of money. You can get an automatic extension to file your taxes by filing form 4868.

To the surprise of many, the IRS has a pretty lax attitude towards April 15th. It gives extensions without a problem. In fact, just filing form 4868 will get you an automatic extension until October to get your return in.

There is something important to understand about your automatic extension. It is only an extension to file. You still are required to pay all the money you owe. Failure to do so will lead to the assessment of penalties and interest when you finally do file.

The tax filing deadline can come at a bad time for many people. You might be ready to file, but do not have the money to pay the amount due. What should you do?

If this occurs, your first option is the Ostrich strategy. You can just stick your head in the sand and not file until you have enough money to pay the bill. The problem, of course, is the IRS is going to notice. You will also pay more in penalties and interest.

If you are ready to file, but short on cash, go ahead and file. Send in what you can even if it is less than you owe. The IRS will send you a notice of shortfall. You can then request a payment plan.

Filing even if you can’t pay is smart for a few reasons. First, you don’t send up red flags at the IRS. Second, you will ultimately pay less then not filing. You will still pay penalties and interest on what you owe, but the amount will be less because you made at least a partial payment.

If you are ready to pay your tax liability, there are a couple of ways. You can pay by check as has always been the case. You can also pay by credit card by going to officialpayment[dot]com. You will pay a service fee for using the online system.

Finding out you are due a refund is a blissful moment. Then greed sets in. When will you get it? You can go to the IRS site and find out. Just click the “where is my refund” link and follow the directions.

I proudly admit to being a procrastinator. If you are like me, D-Day is here. Perhaps we should call it T-Day.

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