Not done yet? Extension may be best, accountants say

The deadline to file income taxes is Tuesday, April 17 and local tax preparers and accountants say for those who have not yet filed, the best option may be filign for an extension.

“The deadline is usually on April 15, but it got extended because the fifteenth fell on a weekend, and there is a federal holiday on Monday,” Julie Adkinson from H&R Block said.

Adkinson said that a person’s tax return has to be postmarked by Tuesday, April 17. For locals, that means having returns at the post office before 5 p.m.

Shon McClung of White and McClung, said that most accountants are working hard on filing their own clients’ taxes and will not accept new clients at this time.

“It depends on who you call,” McClung said. “If a new client came in, then we would try to get them extended.”

McClung said that very few clients do not have E-files, which according to the Internal Revenue Service as of January 2012, any tax return preparer who anticipates preparing and filing 11 or more Forms 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ and 1041 during a calendar year must use IRS e-file.

“If they don’t have an e-file they will need to fill out a form that will exempt them from using e-file,” McClung said.

If a person owes the IRS, then the check needs to be postmarked by April 17, or there will be a late penalty, McClung said.