If you are one of the procrastinators who just can't seem to get your papers together and are starting to worry about the federal tax deadline a week from tomorrow, there are a number of steps you can take and a number of places to go for help.
And there are some things you need to know, government tax officials and private tax advisers say.
No. 1 is that, sure, you can get an automatic extension -- another four months to file -- but if you are going to end up owing the IRS part of your 1996 income you still have to send it in by the April 15 deadline.
"It's only an extension on filing, not an extension on payment," said Honolulu tax preparer Jack Brownrigg.
If clients are having a hard time figuring what they should be paying but had pretty much the same sort of year in 1996 that they had the year before, Brownrigg recommends looking at the 1995 return. "If they paid $1,000 last year, I tell them send in $1,000 this year," with the extension form, he said.
That is Form 4868 and filing it gets taxpayers an extension until Aug. 15 to file the Form 1040 tax return.
Another preparer, Dennis Smith, director of H&R Premium Office in Mililani, said taxpayers also should recognize that by going for the automatic extension they won't avoid any penalties or other charges.
"A lot of them are under the misconception that if they file an extension they don't have to pay penalties or pay what they owe. I tell them, if you file an extension, pay what you think you're going to owe," Smith said.
A lot of people may be late getting their filing done because they're waiting for the annual federal tax form package and the card with their stick-on label carrying their identification number, Smith said.
Don't wait for that because it's not coming. The IRS doesn't do that any more, he said.
Brownrigg said some calculations are necessary when taxpayers are opting for the automatic extension. Taxpayers should put down the amount of tax, if any, that was withheld from their income last year, or any money they paid in the form of estimated taxes. Then subtract that from the total tax you owe and send in the difference, Brownrigg said.
Shawn George, a spokeswoman at the IRS regional headquarters in Seattle, said people who owe taxes for 1996 but just don't have the money can file IRS Form 9465, a request for an arrangement to pay in installments.
Taxpayers must set out on the form what they think they can pay and when they can pay it and then stick to that program.
"If you owe and cannot pay, it's costlier if you don't file," George said.
The penalty is significantly less if you file and don't pay -- perhaps by sending in the installment plan request or actually filling out the 1040 but not attaching a check for what you owe -- than it is if you just don't file, she said.
The late-payment penalty for those who file but don't pay is one-half of 1 percent a month on top of what they owe. That means a taxpayer owing $1,000 who doesn't send it in would eventually have to pay the $1,000 plus $5 a month for the time it wasn't paid.
A taxpayer who didn't file at all would get hit with the non-filer penalty of 5 percent a month of the balance, up to 25 percent of the total. On a $1,000 balance, that's $50 a month up to maximum of $250.
If you do go for the installment plan, there is an additional fee of $43.
Taxpayers can get help and the IRS has extended the hours its advisers can be reached by telephone. (See info boxes.)
George, who used to work in the Honolulu IRS office, said the IRS "1-800" information phones are now answered in Seattle or Portland, not in Honolulu. That means the calls are being handled at West Coast time and that makes a bit of a difference as to when is a good time to call.
The lines are open from 4:30 a.m. Hawaii time until 4 p.m. Hawaii time. For the last four days (this coming Saturday, Sunday, Monday and deadline day Tuesday) the lines will be open from 4:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hawaii time.
There are a lot of calls since the Seattle and Portland offices handle the information requests from Washington, Alaska and Hawaii as well as some from Northern California and Phoenix, Ariz.
"We're running about 35,000 calls a day. We expect on the 14th and 15th it will run to 60,000-
70,000," George said.
People seem to get around to hauling out their papers over the weeked and finding what they need to know, so lines are busiest first thing Monday. They get busy again at the end of the week, as callers try to find out what they're going to have dig out for that weekend.
The lines also get busy at lunchtime. The IRS advises trying to call at other times than those busy periods.
There are several options, including 24-hour lines, for those who don't actually need to talk to a person.
Electronic copies of all the major IRS forms, plus a wide range of texts filled with answers to all kinds of tax questions, are available on the Internet from the IRS home page.
Anyone with a basic understanding of computers and modems can download the forms. There is one step they have to take. It is necessary to download a free Adobe Acrobat Reader software program, which enables the forms to take the proper shape in your computer. It's not hard to do and there are step-by-step instructions.
Major do-it-yourself tax preparation software programs come with a system through which the software provider can file your return electronically for you, George said.
Some tax preparers who are hooked electronically to a central clearinghouse will pass your electronic return on to the IRS for a fee, usually $35.
For the computer literate without home tax software or a tax preparer connection, the forms can be downloaded, printed out and faxed to the IRS.
Most of the fuss right now is about federal taxes because the return deadline comes first, but the deadline for State of Hawaii tax returns is just around the corner.
State returns are due April 20. This year, that happens to be a Sunday so taxpayers have until the end of the day Monday, the 21st, to send in returns, said Ray Kamikawa, tax director.
Hawaii has simplified its return. The basic personal income tax return is only one page now, since taxpayers can simply plug in numbers already calculated for their federal returns, Kamikawa said.
Where to turn
For personal help: IRS offices in the Prince Kuhio Federal Building, at the corner of Punchbowl and Ala Moana, are open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
State tax deadline: April 20 (But that's Sunday so you have until the end of the day Monday, April 21) State tax help
IRS-trained volunteers from the American Association of Retired Persons offer free, confidential federal and state tax help at a number of locations. Phone 523-4545 for sites and times. Other Tax Help: