If you’re a procrastinator by nature, you probably know that Wednesday, April 15, is the last day to file your income taxes for 2014.
If you don’t file by the deadline, and you owe the government money, you could face a penalty when you do file. Here are Times of San Diego’s eight tips for finishing your taxes and avoiding penalties and further stress:
- Use online tax software from the IRS or TurboTax to speed up the process.
- If you file by mail, the post office at 11251 Rancho Carmel Drive in Rancho Penasquitos will accept stamped mail until midnight and still postmark it April 15.
- If you want to procrastinate some more, you can file a six-month extension, but that also means any refund will be late.
- Eligible taxpayers have until April 15 to contribute to either a Roth or traditional individual retirement account, or IRA, for 2014 and receive a tax deduction.
- If you didn’t have health insurance in 2014, you’ll pay a penalty. But you can avoid this next year by signing up now for health care. Even if the Republicans or the Supreme Court strike down Obamacare, it’s still a good idea to have insurance coverage because a major illness could bankrupt you.
- Check your work. Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, says the three most common last-minute mistakes are math errors, incorrect Social Security numbers and failure to sign or date the return.
- California also requires an income tax return, so don’t forget that.
- If you’ve waited this long, consider using direct deposit to get your return faster.
Good luck with your 2015 taxes, and we hope you get a refund.
