April 15, 2008
Albany -- It's April 15, have you field you're tax returns? If you haven't, you're not alone. And the reasons for waiting until to the last minute vary from person to person.
"It could be procrastination. A lot of people have investments that they're waiting on - K-1s from partnerships and corporations. Getting information - broker statements can be amended - there is a host of things. Taxes are just complicated, and it's hard sometimes for people to get everything in by April 15," said M. Alan Ladson with Sculley & Ladson Certified Public Accountants.
And while you might have waited until the last minute to file, you're not out of luck if can't make the deadline.
"You have available an extension. It's automatic and it's good for 6 months until October 15th. It's done on Form 4868 and you can get it off the IRS website," said Ladson.
The IRS estimates that 10.3 million Americans will file for extensions this year. And while you get a 6-month grace period on filing your tax returns, that doesn't mean you're exempt from paying in.
Ladson says, "You have to pay in 90% of what you owe. If you fail to do that, the IRS can invalidate the extension. The other thing to keep in mind is that if you don't pay in what you owe, they're going to assess you at least interest on what you owe until you pay. And if you don't pay in enough, they may assess you under a payment penalty."
The deadline for filing an extension is midnight, April 15. For more information on how you can access Form 4868, click on the link below.
www.irs.gov
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