Not ready for the April 18 tax deadline? Here's how to file an extension.
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Loading... - Marcel Fabre
- 13 Apr 2022
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Being able to count the days left to file your taxes, on one hand, is far from comforting.
Crunch time only adds to your stress levels and the odds of making a mistake – or missing out on a good tax break. Tax rules change constantly and most people couldn't possibly keep up.
"It's sort of like trying to fix your car once a year," said Henry Grzes, lead manager for Tax Practice & Ethics with the American Institute of CPAs.
"It used to be back in the day you could change a spark plug, you could change an air filter. Not many people do that anymore because it's just way too complicated."
More people, no doubt, will be doing their own taxes in the days ahead than changing their spark plugs, thanks to tax software.
The Internal Revenue Service received nearly 42 million e-filed returns that were self-prepared through April 1 – and 45.9 million returns filed by tax professionals.
The total returns that the IRS received hit nearly 91.3 million through April 1 – down 2.1% from a year ago.
The average refund was $3,226 – up 11.5% from the same time a year ago.
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR TAX REFUND:Should you invest it?
Waiting until the last minute can create trouble whether you're a do-it-yourself filer or one who pays a tax professional.
Either way, you need to take time to gather all the necessary paperwork, consider what has changed in your life that needs to be taken into account at tax time, and consider if, maybe, you need to file an extension.
Here's a look at what last-minute filers need to know:
Why file for an IRS extension?
The extension is especially important if you owe taxes.
You want to avoid a very steep failure to file penalty, which is 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that a tax return is late. The late filing penalty won't exceed 25% of your unpaid taxes.
On $1,000 owed in taxes, you're looking at paying $250 alone for failing to file a return for five months. Read More...
