There’s good news for procrastinators in Emporia who have put off filing their taxes this year.
The Emporia Post Office will do a midnight pick-up as they do every year in the alley behind the post office and in the out-of-town box in the Emporia Post Office lobby, 625 Merchant St.
There are 430,000 Kansans who have waited until the last minute to file federal tax returns, according to Michael Devine of the media relations office of the Kansas-Missouri IRS. And the IRS has five things it wants procrastinators to know.
Online, help is available. Visit IRS.gov, the only official IRS revenue site and click on “1040 central,” there will be links to online tools, forms and publications that can be downloaded, answers to frequently answered questions, a free way to electronically file taxes and request an extension. About 70 percent of taxpayers qualify for free electronic filing. Go to IRS.gov and click on Free File to choose from about 20 software companies that provide free tax preparation services.
Another tip is to call the IRS. The IRS’s toll-free assistance line is 1-800-829-1040 and is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday to answer questions.
The IRS suggests E-filing to reduce last-minute mistakes. Electronic is about 20 times more accurate that filing a paper return. So far this year, 75 percent of Kansas taxpayers (595,000) have filed electronically.
Don’t forget the telephone excise tax. Almost a third of all taxpayers have not asked for a refund of the telephone tax paid for long-distance charges from March 2003 to July 2006. Standard amounts add $30 to $60 to a refund. This year, tax returns from 153,000 Kansas taxpayers have not requested refunds worth at least $4.5 million.
If more time is needed ask for an extension. The filing deadline is Tuesday, and an extension only gives you another six months to file and pay taxes due. E-file or mail form 4868 to IRS by Tuesday. Estimate what you might owe and pay that with your extension request to reduce interest and penalties. The IRS extension expects 78,000 requests from Kansas this year.
For taxpayers who are unable to pay, the IRS suggests that their return be filed on time and as much as possible paid to reduce interest and penalties. The IRS will send out a bill or notice for the balance due.
jones (anonymous) says...
Why put it off untilthe last minute if you owe you have to pay it's part of life .Just think if you file before the deadline you help save a lot of money if you wait till the last thenyou shouldn't complain about postage rates going up I for one don'tlike rates going up,so come on people quit dragging your feet and get those tax forms out,or better yet toy are to lazy or to busy playing video games...turn them off and file online save everybody some money!!!!
April 17, 2007 at 6:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )