Extending Only Goes So Far

We live in a world where reminders can be all too easy to just ignore. How many times a day does something pop up on your phone that you glance over in the moment, plan to get to it eventually, and end up needing more reminders before it actually happens? Even so, I am here to offer another one: remember that tax extension you got back in April? Well, those extra six months you gained are now 2/3 over.

In the spirit of ignoring reminders, I understand that the most likely response to this is “that means I still have two months left.” This is true, I won’t try to tell you that you are wrong, but that time can be more fleeting than you realize.

First, count up how many months you have had to get this done when you haven’t already. that starts to make the remaining period look smaller already. Next, remember that this isn’t necessarily a situation where you can pass your information to a tax preparer and have a return churned out in an hour. And if you are already on extension, chances are pretty good that you don’t have the simplest tax return or it likely would have been completed already.

And when time is on your side, it only helps you get a better final number on your final return. Then if there are a couple questions whose answer will help you, you have time to make sure that you get answers to those questions.

Finally, please remember that being on extension did gain you those extra six months to file your taxes, but it did not gain you any extra leeway when it comes to paying what you owe. This means that if you end up owing money at the end of the process, the interest you must pay on that money is only increasing the longer this goes on.

So if by some chance anyone did actually make it this deep into reading my August reminder, hopefully that means you are going to take to heart how beneficial it can be to get a strong start of moving things to the finish line.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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