April 15. A day of dread for most Americans out there, but also a very important dreadful day. By the end of today, you must have your tax filings sent in to the Internal Revenue Service.
They have to be postmarked with the April 15 date, otherwise you risk serious penalties down the line. So even if you’ve procrastinated to this point, do everything you can to get your taxes done.
With that in mind, let’s review some of our posts over the last couple of months and talk about some key factors when it comes to filing your taxes:
- Simply not filing your taxes is a bad strategy. The penalties won’t be swift, but they will certainly be harsh. Avoid some bad times down the line by getting your tax filing in, even if you have to pay Uncle Sam.
- Staying with this theme, you also shouldn’t file a false or fraudulent tax return.
- Instead of not filing or filing fraudulently, you can file a Form 4868 to extend your tax filing period. This can be useful in many ways — but just like an actual tax filing, Form 4868 must be sent in to the IRS by April 15.
- Audits can be triggered within three years of the due date of your tax filing, but there are some other rules and situations that can extend this audit period.
- Tax liens and levies can be especially painful and harsh on the individual, so make sure you deal with these things quickly and appropriately.