40 Million Taxpayers Have Yet to File

t Tuesday marks the end of another tax season, and that means most tax professionals are currently in the midst of their busiest time of year. The IRS is even keeping their customer service lines open this Saturday to help preparers with the approximately 30 million returns that are expected to be filed between now and April 18.

In addition to support for tax pros, the agency has provided numerous resources for taxpayers looking to get their return filed before the deadline, including payment tools and general filing-season information.

To help the anticipated 8 million taxpayers who will file an extension by Tuesday, the IRS has a direct link to Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. The IRS only expects a year-end total of 13 million extensions, meaning that more than sixty percent of all extensions are filed between now and Tuesday.

Despite being able to file an extension, taxpayers still need to pay their tax bill by Tuesday – otherwise they will likely be charged a late-payment penalty.

If any of your clients are looking for even more incentive to pay by April 18, here it is from the IRS: “The interest rate is currently four percent per year, compounded daily, and the late-payment penalty is normally 0.5 percent per month.” The short version: pay by April 18 or owe more money.

To the do-it-yourselfers out there: you may need your adjusted gross income (AGI) from your 2015 tax return if you switched tax software, and verifying all of the information on your return before e-filing will save you a headache.