Psst: You May Have An Extra 3 Hours To File Taxes

DAVE CARPENTER

CHICAGO (AP) — So, what if you don't drop that tax return in the mailbox at the stroke of midnight?

Officially, the IRS sticks by a passage on the agency's Web site: "If you do not file your return by the due date, you may have to pay a failure-to-file penalty and interest."

But experts say waiting in line at the post office on Tax Night isn't necessary.

"We certainly encourage everyone to file on time," said Tom Ochsenschlager, vice president of tax for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. "But if you're a little bit late, the IRS will probably be pretty reasonable."

And here's one more secret. That midnight deadline for filing taxes is actually midnight Pacific time, giving many of the nation's procrastinators as much as a three-hour reprieve.

Online filers, especially, may appreciate the time. The reality is that the annual ritual of dashing to the post office to get returns postmarked on April 15 is being replaced by late nights on the computer using tax-preparation software. A majority of returns are now filed electronically.