Time is up. April 15, despite all your wishing and hoping, has arrived.
You've put off filing for 3½ months, but any more procrastination could cost you. So don't just sit there. File something today.
And that, my friends, is today's Daily Tax Tip. It's the final one for the high 2013 tax-filing season. But don't despair. On Wednesday, the Weekly Tax Tip series begins.
Now back to the here and how.
Form choices, 1040 or 4868: Ideally, the material you file today will be your Form 1040.
But the reality is that millions of us procrastinators end up procrastinating even more.
Many of us, and yes, I'm part of this not-so-select club, typically send the Internal Revenue Service Form 4868, the official notification that we're going to need six more months to get our tax paperwork in order.
You don't have to give Uncle Sam a reason. Believe me, he's heard them all anyway.
And you don't have to wait until Oct. 15 to finally finish up your 2012 tax filing task. If you get your tax act together next week, go ahead and send your 1040 in then.
You must, however, let him know via 4868 about your personal filing delay, either by sending the form so that it's postmarked April 15 or e-filing it by midnight.
You can take the online option by using Free File or free fillable forms if your adjusted gross income is more than this year's $57,000 income eligibility limit.
Don't forget to pay: And be sure to include any tax that you owe with your extension request.
Just in case it hasn't been burned into your brain in the more than seven years that I've been saying it here on the ol' blog:
Remember, it's an extension to file your tax forms only,
not an extension to pay any tax you owe.
If you don't pay your due amount, or at least 90 percent of it with your extension request, you'll owe more because of penalty charges.
So get to work! You still have a few hours to finish your 2012 tax return or fill out the one-page Form 4868.
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