Late filing penalty is 10 times that of late payment.
OTTUMWA, IOWA -- April 15 is Tax Day, or the official deadline to file taxes.
Our Fact Finder team looked into what people should do if they haven’t filed their taxes yet.
Fact Finder talked with Iowa’s IRS Spokesperson Chris Miller and he says first and foremost people can still E-File tonight.
Miller tells Fact Finder the IRS expects 10 Million returns to be filed today nationwide.
Even if you cannot afford to pay your taxes right now, Miller says it is still important to file and will be cheaper in the end for you.
“You should timely file your tax return and pay as much as you can by April 15th if you owe because the late filing penalty is 10 times greater than the late payment penalty,” Miller said.
Miller tells Fact Finder that 78% of an expected 1.3 million returns were filed by April 14th in Iowa. Miller says Iowa also leads the nation in E-Filing.
Miller says there are multiple ways to pay your taxes.
“If you owe money, you need to make a check or money order out and send it along with your tax return and you make it out to the United States Treasury. Also we would tell you to include a payment voucher,” Miller said.
Miller says the voucher ensures the money is credited to the right account. He tells Fact Finder people can also pay with credit or debit over the phone or online.
“If people haven’t filed their taxes after tonight, they should try to get their return in as soon as possible to avoid any further penalties or interest. So if you haven’t filed by the deadline, try to get it in as soon as possible,” Miller said.
The penalty for late filing is 5% and only 0.5% for late payments.
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