April 15th is the due date for tax returns, and the date is quickly approaching. While many think that this is the date the Internal Revenue Service must have your 1040 in hand, it is actually the date the return should either be post-marked or submitted online.
The IRS considers a mailed in tax return to be on time if it is sent in a properly addressed envelope and is postmarked by April 15th with the correct amount of postage. If you are submitting your return online, do not procrastinate until April 15th at 11:59pm. The return could be considered late should you run into connection errors due to your personal internet connection or an overload of users on the submission server.
If you need an extension on submitting your tax return, you can extend it a total of six months through proper paperwork. The proper paperwork required to extend your return deadline is called a Form 4868. There are three ways to file the Form 4868.
- You may mail in the form which is downloadable from www.irs.gov.
- You may also file electronically as the form is included in most tax software packages. Eligible tax payers may also be able to file electronically through the Free Files on the IRS website.
- The third way to file an extension is by paying part of, or all of, your tax bill by credit card through an authorized, private sector service provider. This allows you to make payments on your credit card instead of paying directly to the IRS.
With four days left, the deadline is inching closer. Whether you are filing your return or filing your extension, don’t forget to meet the deadline on April 15th.