The drop-dead due date for procrastinating tax filers is less than a week away. You have noticed the countdown clock over there in the right column, right?
Yes, that's right, the Internal Revenue Service is working with a skeleton crew, but it expects folks who got until Oct. 15 to finish filling out their tax returns to do just that by next Tuesday.
If you are an uber-procrastinator, you're pooh-poohing this post. You'll get to your 1040 on Monday, you say, or maybe Tuesday morning.
Good luck with that.
If you push off your tax filing too long, you'll be in a big hurry as the filing deadline gets even nearer. You have heard that old saying about haste making waste, haven't you?
But if you insist on waiting until the absolutely last minute, check out today's Weekly Tax Tip and its list of 10 common tax-filing mistakes to avoid.
Where we err: Math mistakes are the most common, both in April and October.
Also make sure you include all your income. Remember, the IRS gets copies of your W-2s and 1099s.
And I know all the ol' blog's readers are honest, but I must remind you that you should add in other earnings even if you didn't get official paperwork detailing the income.
Finally, double check all your information, especially where numbers are involved.
Transposed Social Security numbers could invalidate a tax credit claim. A bad bank account entry could send your expected direct deposit tax refund — and yes, some procrastinating taxpayers put off filing even when they're due money back from Uncle Sam — to the wrong account.
So give the tax mistakes tip (linked above) over on Bankrate a read, as well as check out my earlier filing mistakes post here on the ol' blog.
And good luck getting your return to the IRS on time!
You also might find these items of interest:
