Time Crunch

Somehow this year I haven’t been feeling this space with nothing but warnings about how the tax deadline is approaching. At this point, though, I must show up with one since there is less than a month to go before April 15th.

How did that happen?

If you find yourself wondering that, then there are a couple things you can do. The first is obviously to gather all your tax information together and get yourself in a position where the time crunch doesn’t feel too terrible. Unfortunately, though, even if you do that, it may already be too late to guarantee that your return can be finished by April 15. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though.

For the second thing you can do when feeling the calendar has whizzed by is to be aware of the possibility of filing an extension. This is a fairly straightforward process where you can gain yourself an extra six months to file your taxes.

Six months, really?

Yes, really, and that is a significant amount of time that is as long as it feels. Unfortunately, this means that when an extension does come up, it can feel so long that it pushes people right back into further procrastination. This is not something one should immediately fall into, though, for although an extension does give you those extra months to file, it does not give you extra time to pay any taxes you may owe. So while April 15 can pass and the IRS still won’t be expecting your tax return yet, you will begin piling fees and interest on top of what you already owe.

If you happen to be on the other end of equation and are expecting a refund, this would not affect you, but why would you want to wait on getting money that is owed to you? Even if you don’t need it, you can earn some interest on it with it in your hands instead of allowing the government to do so.

Beyond that, even industry articles have to admit that this is a pretty regular tax season, so there is little up in the air that is holding up the tax season. There is not any doom and gloom to be spouting and things to tell you to worry about. The time has come, though, to make the final regular moves for it is now spring, whether your weather feels like it or not, and that means the crunch is on.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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