Can’t make income tax deadline? Read this

Without a doubt, our tax code promotes procrastination. It’s complicated and confusing, and thus many people put off filing until the last minute.

In fact, I’ll fess up. As I write this two days before April 15, I have yet to file my return. Part of the reason is that I’m not getting a refund, so I didn’t have an incentive to file early.

I have company. There are millions of fellow procrastinators — both those who owe and are owed — who wait until the last minute to file their returns. So if you have put off filing, here are some tips for tackling your taxes on deadline:

If you can’t meet today’s deadline, you can get a four-month extension. But be forewarned. The extension only applies to filing the return, not to paying any taxes due.

If you don’t pay on time, the IRS charges interest on the taxes owed. You must pay at least 90 percent of what you owe, otherwise you will be hit with a late-payment penalty.

There are those of you who will shake your head and ask: If you know what to pay, why not just file on time? Well, speaking on behalf of procrastinators, if your tax situation is complicated and you have a lot of forms to file, you may not have filled them out in time or gathered all the supporting documents that need to be filed with your return.

Anyway, to get the automatic extension, file Form 4868, "Application for Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return." The form must be postmarked by April 15. You can also file for an extension by phone by calling 888-796-1074 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. local time (except in Hawaii and Alaska, which should use Pacific Daylight Time). You will still need to prepare Form 4868 before you make the call, and have a copy of your 2002 tax return handy. You may also e-file an extension request using tax preparation software, or by going to a tax preparer. You can download the form from the IRS Web site, www.irs.gov.

If you received a payment for the child tax credit, don’t forget to subtract the amount on your return. Last year’s payments were an advance on the credit’s increase for 2003, when the maximum per-child amount rose from $600 to $1,000. You can’t claim the full $1,000 per child credit if you received an advance payment check last year. You should put the amount of the advance payment check on line 2 of the child tax credit worksheet. And I’m sure this won’t make a lot of folks happy, but if the advance payment was withheld by the government because of past-due taxes or some other debt, you still have to list on the worksheet the full advance amount you were supposed to receive. Why, you may moan? Because you got the benefit of the full amount even if it was confiscated to pay past-due taxes or other debts.

Oh, no. You realized after mailing your return that you made a mistake. You forgot to subtract the advance payment, or you just found a 1099 listing extra income you didn’t report. Don’t panic. Just amend your return. The IRS usually fixes math mistakes, but if you didn’t use the right filing status, didn’t report all your income or forgot some deductions or credits, then file an amended return. Use Form 1040X, "Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return," to correct a previously filed Form 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ or electronically filed return. Be sure to enter the year of the return you are amending at the top of Form 1040X. However, if you are filing an amended return because you are due more money, the IRS suggests you wait until you have received your original refund before filing Form 1040X.

Finally, when you do file your return, you don’t have to wonder when you’ll get your refund. In 2002, the IRS created an Internet-based tracking system called "Where’s My Refund?" It’s become a popular feature. As of earlier this week, there were more than 17.4 million attempts to use the service.

If you file electronically, you can check on your refund within 72 hours of submitting your return. But if you mail a paper return, you have to wait three to four weeks.

To access "Where’s My Refund?" go to www.irs.gov. There is a link on the home page. You just need to type in your Social Security number, filing status and amount of your refund — right down to the change.

If you don’t have Internet access, you can still check on your refund by calling the IRS’ new refund hotline at 800-829-1954 or the automated refund service at 800-829-4477.

(c) Washington Post Writers Group