The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that Tax Day 2022 will fall on Monday, April 18th instead of April 15th, because of the Emancipation Day holiday (taxpayers in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 19th to file their returns due to the Patriots' Day holiday in those states). Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Monday, October 17, 2022, to file.
Putting off paying taxes until right before the deadline is human nature. In fact, according to recent statistics from the IRS, almost 70 million individuals had already filed their tax returns as of March. And that’s only 45% of the returns the IRS expects to receive this year.
For those who haven’t filed yet, here are some tips from a financial advisor. The first is to have a professional, usually an accountant, fill out your returns to the Internal Revenue Service. Two reasons to convince you to have your taxes done professionally:
So it is likely worth your time and money to have an expert prepare your tax return or at least look it over.
Preparing your own returns can take a lot of time, but the exact amount of time depends on the complexity of your finances. You already know that the federal, state and local tax laws are complex, and constantly changing. But remember, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made some significant changes to the tax code when it went into effect. In fact, most consider the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to be the biggest tax reform legislation in more than 30 years.
The answer to that question, of course, depends on your situation. But it’s likely that for a lot of people, it makes sense to just stick to the original schedule and file and pay taxes by April 18th.
Ask yourself this question: “Is there any real benefit to waiting until October 17th?”
When you’ve answered that question, make sure you talk to your financial advisor.