GILROY
– The time for making excuses is running out.
Thursday, the tax man cometh, leaving less than two days for
procrastinators to file their returns or request an extension.
GILROY – The time for making excuses is running out.
Thursday, the tax man cometh, leaving less than two days for procrastinators to file their returns or request an extension.
Although the April 15 deadline is looming, the Gilroy post office Tuesday afternoon was business as usual. It seems folks around Gilroy already may have filed their forms, are filing electronically or are planning to wait until the last minute.
“The post office is functioning as usual, it hasn’t really hit yet,” Postmaster Penny Yates said.
She expects an influx of filers today and Thursday.
“I don’t know how it’s going to go since it’s in the middle of the week,” Yates said. “Usually, it’s been on a Monday … and it’s been horrible, but we haven’t seen it yet.”
Thursday, the post office will be fully staffed with five windows open instead of the usual four. Business hours will not be extended, however, so anyone pushing the deadline may want to allow for a possible end-of-the-day rush.
“They have until 5 o’clock to deposit their mail,” Yates said.
The Santa Cruz post office, which has extended its hours for more than 15 years, also will close at 5 p.m. The nearest post offices that will be open late are the main San Jose post office at 1750 Lundy Ave., which will be open until 8 p.m., and the Salinas post office at 1011 Post Dr., which will be open until midnight.
The IRS expects 10 million taxpayers to miss tomorrow’s deadline. Local residents among them can extend their deadline by submitting Form 4868 electronically or by mail, or by calling the IRS’ toll-free number by 4:30 p.m.
Doug Diaz said he applied for an automatic extension last week.
“I lost one of my W-2 forms,” Diaz said.
He realized he was missing the information two weeks ago but won’t put off filling out his return once the form arrives in the mail.
“I heard it takes two weeks, so I’ll probably get (my taxes) in in two weeks,” he said.
The extension gives taxpayers an additional four months to file – until Aug. 15 – but does not give more time to pay.
“If you have any taxes due, then taxes have to be paid by the 15th,” said Patty Chantler, certified public accountant and partner with Ireland San Filippo in Gilroy. “So it would be a good idea to get a sense of how much you owe by then so you don’t have to pay the interest and penalties (for filing late).”
Interest applies to any tax not paid by April 15, plus a late payment penalty if less than 90 percent of the total tax is paid on time.
Chantler recommends, however, that people file on time even if they are unable to pay, to avoid a separate “late filing” charge. The penalty for failing to file on time is 5 percent of the balance owed per month.
For local accountants, the major influx of preparations is over, but there is still plenty to be done before 5 p.m. Thursday.
“Basically, we will be busy until tomorrow, just because everything that doesn’t get filed by tomorrow, we need to make sure we have an extension for them,” Chantler said.
The IRS reminds last-minute filers to double-check their returns for errors and use its Web site for help. Taxpayers should check their math, carefully use tax tables and remember to accurately list Social Security numbers.
E-filing is an option to consider for both filing and paying, because the Web-based option is available until midnight Thursday.
Sally Zabala said she used e-file, via the agency that prepares her taxes, to file in mid-March. She contacts a financial service in February to complete her 1040 every year.
“It’s complicated, with rentals and everything,” Zabala said.
The IRS also encourages financial services agencies to use e-file, Chantler said.
“It definitely is getting more popular,” she said. “And in terms of not using so much of your paper, it’s probably better that way because you don’t have to send all your forms to the government. I guess it’s a lot for them to store all the paper data.”
Taxpayers shouldn’t count on e-filing to protect them from coming under IRS scrutiny, however.
“As far as if it’s anything better in terms of having less chance of getting audited, we don’t know that yet,” Chantler said.
This year, tax day actually came after Tax Freedom Day, which was celebrated on April 11, the earliest its been in 37 years.
Tax Freedom Day, according to the non-profit Tax Foundation, is the day when most Americans have earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year.
“Every dollar that’s officially called income by the government is counted, and every payment to the government that is officially considered a tax is counted,” according to the foundation. “Taxes at all levels of government are included, whether levied by Uncle Sam or state and local governments.”
