When the Taxman Cometh, Tell Him to Come Back Later

We're pretty much a nation of procrastinators.  Anyone disagree?  When it comes to financial matters, even more so.  Have you ever been to the Post Office on April 15?  It's a circus!  Like literally, one year I went and found people handing out free ice cream, jugglers, and clowns!

So, what's better than just barely making a deadline?  Well, getting an extention, of course.  But wait!  Before you file that extention, and the IRS expects 10 million of you to do so, there are some rules that you should follow.

First my disclaimer.  I am not a tax advisor, accountant, or an expert in any way at all.  I am simply rehashing some information from H&R Block that was sent to me.  Thank you, by the way, for that.  Before you make any financial or tax related decision, you should seek the counsel of an accountant or attorney in your area, not some anonymous guy on the internet.

Okay, so, what does H&R Block tell us to remember about filing an extention?  Well, the rules are simple.

• Notify the IRS.  You can't just not do it.  You have to tell them you're not going to do it.  And it's not like replying to your best friend's e-vite with, "Yea, I'll be there, but I got a work thing, so don't wait for me."  No, you have to file a form.  It's called form 4868.  You wonder why all the forms have numbers?  Why don't they call it the "Tax Filing Extention Form"?
• File Later, Pay Now.  If you owe them money, using the Time Value of Money theories, you should wait until the last minute to pay up.  Well, filing an extention doesn't allow you to delay payments for four months.  You have to pay now, or be subject to interest and penalties.  You don't want to be penalized by the IRS.
• Use your Credit Card.  Well, this is according to H&R Block.  I disagree.  Jim at Blueprint posted a pretty concise article about this.  Bottom line, you'll probably pay a fee to do this.  Not worth it.
• Year Round Tax Professionals.  Again, see my disclaimer.  See a professional!  Don't take my advice!
• File if you can, even if you can't pay.  Like point #2, pay what you can now if you owe.  You can set up payment plans and such, but we're pretty much against those except for as a last resort.
• Extend the Extention?  Seriously, get your taxes done.  The IRS will give you four months, not too many questions asked.  But don't take advantage of their generosity.  Get'r done.

H&R Block has something called the National Tax Advice Day.  But, I don't know much about it.  If they want to pay for advertising on this site, I'll learn more!

Comments

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Was wondering if I could file an extension and pay later...I guess not...that would be a big benefit!

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