Deadline to file taxes is almost up

According to H&R Block, one in three taxpayers wait until April to file taxes.

For those who wait until April, time is almost up. Because of a holiday celebrated in Washington, D.C., the deadline for filing was extended to April 18 rather than April 15. And the 18th is nearly here.

With the deadline to file approaching, tax preparation companies like H&R Block are keeping busy.

“It’s picking up dramatically right now,” said Vicki Smith, manager and senior tax advisor at H&R Block in Pocatello. “We had some great days the past few days.”

But there are a lot of people who don’t go in to a tax service at all. They go online. Sites like H&R Block, Turbo Tax or even Free File at irs.gov are all commonly used sites for do-it-yourself taxes.

But tax advisors said sometimes filing online can have its complications.

“You end up overlooking exemptions, credits, not answering a yes or no question properly,” said Smith. “So if you don’t have a little bit of tax theory and understand it, sometimes the online makes it a little bit difficult.”

One of the biggest mistakes Smith sees with people’s taxes is filling everything out exactly the same way as the year before, and not accounting for any major life changes. Having a baby, getting married or buying a house are all things people can get credits and deductions for and a lot of people miss that when doing it all themselves.

“Education credits is another big one,” said Smith. “With Pocatello being a university town, we’re finding that a lot of people are not taking advantage of education credits that are worth up to $2,500.”

Another thing Smith said people may not realize is that something has to be filed by April 18. Whether it’s a payment plan or an extension, something should be in. But Smith has a caution about extensions.

“The big thing about an extension is it’s not an extension to pay,” she said.”

If money is owed, the government still expects it by April 18. Options like an installment agreement can help make payment manageable. But not filing at all is a 10-times greater penalty than not paying in full.

Those who request an extension to file will have until October 17 to complete their return. According to the IRS, it’s projecting approximately 13.5 million requests for extension this year.