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Deadline to file taxes is Tuesday

• The clock strikes at midnight on Tuesday for procrastinating income tax filers.

Joshua Brown

ALBANY — With the official deadline for taxpayers to file their 2007 returns coming up Tuesday at midnight, Internal Revenue Service officials are reminding Southwest Georgians to file on time.

IRS spokesman Mark Green said Thursday that taxpayers should file their returns or extensions by midnight Tuesday in order to avoid any late filing fees. Filers should estimate any taxes they may owe and pay as much as they can in order to avoid late payment fees, he said, because receiving an extension does not excuse payment of any taxes due.

Late filing fees are 10 times more than the 0.5 percent per month late payment fees, he said.

Green encouraged filers to use the IRS’ e-filing system, which allows them to file instantly and receive refunds quicker. The e-filing link can be found through the IRS’ Web site, http://www.irs.gov.

Taxpayers filing returns this year should double check all the information on their returns to ensure it is correct, he said, because the taxpayer is held responsible for all information in the tax return, not the tax preparer.

“The most important thing to remember is to double check the return (for errors), such as math errors, Social Security numbers, make sure they’re correct,” he said.

Any one who needs help with their taxes can stop by the Albany IRS office at 235 W. Roosevelt Ave. The office is open 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on weekdays and will be open Saturday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Green also suggested taxpayers familiarize themselves with new tax laws that could increase their refunds or provide further exemptions.

“I would definitely encourage taxpayers to take a look at the new tax laws,” he said. “One of the new ones that sticks out in my mind is the foreclosure law, the forgiveness of tax, for those who face foreclosure.”

The foreclosure law would forgive taxes owed by the taxpayer on the difference in what the bank resells the home for from what the taxpayer bought the home for, Green said.

Another new law he mentioned was one that allows taxpayers to count as a deduction any private mortgage insurance purchased since 2007 if they refinanced or purchased a new home and they itemize their deductions.

“Those were the two that really stood out this year that really helped out a lot of people,” he said.

Green pointed out that there were still 44,000 Georgians to whom the IRS owed $38 million from 2004, but they must file tax returns for that year by April 15 in order to receive their refunds.

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