You Don't Have To Wait

Getting an extension on your tax return feels like such a boon when it happens. They often come just when you feel the April deadline looming large and suddenly that dreaded day gets pushed back six months. That is such a long time that it becomes difficult to feel that filing is a necessary task. After all, how many things are you actively planning that are happening half a year in the future?

But get this, just because your deadline is now in October, that doesn’t mean you have to wait until the spooky month comes to start working on your extended return.

First off, I want to state how getting an extension should not be immediately worrisome. The ability to get one exists for a reason and the ease with which it can be obtained shows it is not some out-of-this-world tricky tactic. In fact, there are roughly 19 million taxpayers who filed an extension this year.

Many of these happen due to legitimate circumstances. Sometimes things come up in life that throw us into disarray and getting your taxes filed then cannot (and should not) stay atop the to-do list. Sometimes there are issues with tax forms, or you didn’t even receive them, so you can’t file a complete and legitimate return until that is worked out.

Of course, sometimes doing your taxes just is not fun, so one procrastinates, and suddenly you have run out of time without really starting

No matter where you fall among these scenarios, though, it is time to start putting some thought into making this happen. If you had some issues you were battling through, hopefully they have eased enough that now you have the time to take this other task off your list.

But mostly this is a reminder for those who just did not get things done in time. Remember how pressing things felt back in April when you knew you wouldn’t finish by the original deadline? You do not have to feel that way again. And sure, you still have more than two months to go before the new deadline hits, but why wait to complete something that you don’t have to wait to do? Chances are you have at least SOME things together already when it comes to gathering your information, so it will not that THAT long to finish that up. So let this serve as cheering you on to continue doing so and get to that endpoint even before the real endpoint comes.

​Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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