When is the Tax Deadline?
When is the 2010 tax deadline for your 2009 tax return? As a tax junkie, the date is etched in stone in my mind. However, I realize that not everyone knows when taxes are due. The 2010 tax deadline for your 2009 tax return is April 15, 2010.
Tax Deadline Postmark
Whether or not you meet the tax deadline is based on the postmark. You must have your taxes postmarked by the deadline, but the IRS doesn’t need to receive your taxes by the tax deadline. If you are using TurboTax, just make sure to print out your entire return and have it to the post office before closing time on April 15.
Growing up, I remember when my mom used to volunteer at the post office every April 15. They would help taxpayers finish their returns and get them in the mail. It was like a big tax party, and they even served refreshments!
Of course, now that efile is so popular, there isn’t as much activity at the post office. However, there are still many people who mail their return in. If you are efiling, you’ll also need to submit your return electronically by April 15.
Tax Extensions
If you file for an extension, your tax return will be due on October 15. You can file Form 4868 to get an automatic extension. However, you still have to pay the tax due by the original tax deadline on April 15.
Tax Deadline Extras
While you are working on your tax return, there are some other deadlines that fall on the same day as the tax deadline.
Retirement Contributions. The tax deadline is also the deadline for making contributions to your IRA and Roth IRA.
Estimated Tax Payments. If you make estimated tax payments, April 15 is also the same day that that estimated tax payments are due for first quarter.
Tax Filing Online
Now that you know when the tax deadline is you can go ahead and file your taxes online right now for free with TurboTax!
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Just a note on E-Filing. I had a bunch of money I owed one year so I waited to E-File until April 15th. Sounds good – I E-Filed at 8 PM. Well the IRS held onto my tax documents on some “staging server” which did not get it into the queue of the “processing server” until after midnight. Thus my taxes, even though they were e-filed on time, were considered late, and a 10% penalty.
One other note on extensions: your best option is to file an extension online. That way you’re guaranteed to get a response from the IRS and can re-file if your request was rejected. If, on the other hand, you choose to send the IRS your request through the mail, you will never hear anything. That means it may never get to the IRS or it could be rejected. That will mean you’re accumulating late filing penalties without even knowing it.
Unlike what happened to “Big-D” with his taxes, you can e-file extensions right thru midnight without any issues. The IRS has such a long backlog of extensions that they don;t penalize you if technically the extension isn’t accepted until April 16.
If you are mailing your return it is a good idea to send it certified mail as things do get lost in the mail sometimes. If your tax return gets lost in the mail and you have no proof it was sent, then it is the same thing as not filing your return. If you owe taxes and you are sending in your return and payment and it gets lost, you can get hit with some big failure to file penalties. Certified mail is cheap insurance.