April 17th approaches, is your tax return ready?

The individual filing deadline is about 2 weeks away. If you haven’t already filed your tax return, welcome to crunch time. While USPS will be open late to handle those last second filers, you don’t have to be one of those people.

If you know you will need a little extra time to get your return together this year, you can file form 4868 – Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File… It’s got a really long name, but the important part is you won’t have to file your return until October 15th. The catch (there’s always a catch with the IRS) is that it’s an extension to file, not an extension to pay. That means that you need to pay any tax that you owe by the April 17th deadline. If you normally have to pay a little extra with your return, do a quick estimate and see where you stand this year. It might make sense to pay a little to avoid any potential penalties and interest.

Either way, make sure you either file your return or file an extension. Get the pressure off and avoid those long lines on the 17th.