It's Tax Day! Here’s what to do if you still haven’t filed

The official deadline to file for taxes in the US is today — Monday, April 15. Many Americans may have let this deadline sneak up on them and have yet to file. While the deadline can be important for many, it's possible to file an extension and receive more time to get what they need together, in order for a successful return.

National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP) Director of Tax Content Tom O’Saben joins Wealth! to break down everything Americans need to know when filing for their taxes at the last possible minute.

O'Saben offers this advice: "I would advise today, get an extension filed. The extension, by the way, is in time to file, not in time to pay. So if you're not sure, then you're going to have to send something in or at the very least get that extension filed, and then get together with your tax professional or sit down with a clear mind — maybe in a couple of weeks — and get that return paid in... Get that return submitted when your mind is clearer... Let's not turn that haste into a big mistake on a tax return that either the IRS comes back later and says, 'Hmm, I really didn't know when you got these numbers,' or secondly, you missed out on some deductions or some refunds."

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This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

Video Transcript

- As George Harrison once said, "Yeah. I'm the taxman. And you're working for no one but me," end quote. Well, whether you like it or not, today is tax day. And the IRS expects tens of millions of returns to be filed today just before the deadline. Just squeaking in by the hair of their chinny chin chin.

And if you're one of those millions of people, our next guest is here to make sure you are in good shape when the clock strikes midnight tonight. Let's welcome in Tom O'Saben who is the Director of Tax Content at the National Association of Tax Professionals. Tom, great to have you here with us today. All right. It's deadline day. So what do people need to know as they're, perhaps, hitting the Send button or, you know, getting the liquor ready for that postage stamp or just closing up the envelope. You get the picture.

TOM O'SABEN: I sure do get the picture. And you might be surprised what I'm going to say to begin. Is that April 15 might not mean anything to you. That is, if you're expecting a refund, you don't even have to file today. You can actually wait up to three years after the due date, and the IRS will give you your money, and they'll pay you interest.

So maybe today is not the day to panic, I guess is what I'm trying to say to everybody out there. We are, by human nature, procrastinators. So who I'm really talking to are the people who owe taxes. So two schools of thought. One would be, if you knew what you owed, then you probably have your return finished. But maybe you don't.

So at the very least, what you want to do today-- and I'm a practitioner. I've been one for 33 years, we're frazzled. Today is probably not the day to sit down with your box of receipts, spread everything out, and expect that tax professional is going to have the quality, let's say, of what they would have had two months ago or they might have in a couple of weeks.

So I would advise today, get an extension filed. The extension, by the way, is in time to file, not in time to pay. So if you're not sure, then you're going to have to send something in or at the very least, get that extension filed and then get together with your tax professional or sit down with a clear mind maybe in a couple of weeks and get that return paid in. Get that return submitted when your mind is clearer.

My grandma used to say that haste makes waste. Let's not turn that haste into a big mistake on a tax return that either the IRS comes back later and says, hmm. We really didn't know where you got these numbers. Or secondly, you miss out on some deductions or some refunds. So my first advice is, don't panic today. Remember, haste makes waste.

- Yeah. OK. A word of woosah out the gate. Thank you for that, Tom. Because a lot of us certainly do appreciate it and need it on the day. There's also the postmarking that needs to be discussed here as well here. And we're taking a look here on the screen at some of your tips for filing taxes at the last minute here. And we've talked about the extension. But specifically, there are a lot of people who use software.

Using whatever the case may be. None of them paid for the right to be mentioned right now. So we'll let the viewers out there determine which is best for them. But one way or the other, software and the AI that's baked into the software has become a button that people hit a lot more. What are tips for those people?

TOM O'SABEN: Well, it's the same kind of thing. Be prepared. I strongly recommend the use of software, and there's a lot of good ones that are out there. What the software does is it eliminates those mathematical, those simple type of errors that people make. And getting that eliminated and pressing that button by 11:00 PM Eastern time, we'll make sure it's received by midnight. But that's the thing, again, too.

If you're just starting to put your information together today, we have this vision of the old Saturday evening post drawing by Norman Rockwell of the person sitting there, and it's 10 minutes to midnight, and there's papers piled up all over their desk, and they're trying to get the return finished. I think that's a mistake. Trying to get it done and get it done accurately by doing it at the last minute. I suggest filing an extension today.

- And so let's talk a little bit more about that extension. I believe it's 48 to 68. What do people need to know about that? And what's the date? The key date from there.

TOM O'SABEN: Absolutely. If you're not in an area where the IRS has provided an extension because there's been a disaster area or terrorist attacks or something like that, the extension again is in time to file, not in time to pay. If April 15 is your due date, you file that extension today, you have until October 15 to file the return. October 15 of 2024.

And that extension doesn't go beyond that date. I've had people who come in multiple years later and say, well, I filed an extension for that year. Well, it doesn't last forever. It's only good for six months. So that's the key here. Is that it is an extension of time to file, not in time to pay. So if you have no clue about whether or not you're going to owe taxes, and you might owe, still file the extension because the government calls that first penalty a failure to file penalty.

And the failure to file penalty is based on how much tax you still owe. So we can get rid of that failure to file penalty, but the failure to pay a penalty and interest will start accruing after midnight tonight. So maybe that's not the worst situation if you can get to your return in a couple of weeks with a clear mind or the clear mind of your tax professional and sit down and lay that out and prepare an accurate return.

And then I want to say something else. Owing the IRS money is not the end of the world. They really want to work with you. But they'll work with you once they have the return file. Listen, nobody's going to drive up to your door tomorrow and have three Black suburbans pull up, and all these people get out talking to their shoulder, and they're going to take you away for not filing your taxes.

Leave that to the FBI for criminals. But take a slow approach, and yes, file that extension today. If you think you typically owe money, send some money in with it so you're not hit with those failure to pay penalties and interest.

- Tom, thanks so much for taking the time here today. Certainly do appreciate it. Tom O'Saben, was the Director of Tax Content at the National Association of Tax Professionals. I appreciate the time.

TOM O'SABEN: Always a pleasure.