Nine million expected to seek tax extensions

WASHINGTON — Like your grade school teacher, the Internal Revenue Service won’t believe the dog ate your homework — or your tax return. But harried taxpayers can get another four months beyond Friday’s April 15 deadline for getting their returns in.

Almost 9 million people are expected to file for automatic extensions, a step that can be taken with a phone call, a few mouse clicks or a single piece of paper.

The reprieve does not give taxpayers more time to pay any money owed. Anyone who requests an extension must estimate the taxes due and enclose a check or authorize an electronic bank withdrawal. The extension will be voided if the IRS finds the estimate to be unreasonable.

Although the extension form is short, that can be a little deceptive, said Kathy Burlison, director of tax implementation at H&R Block. Calculating an estimate of taxes due forces many taxpayers to fill out most of their return.

“By the time you do the work to figure out the information on the extension, you might as well do your taxes,” she said.

The IRS expects about 40 million taxpayers to reach the same conclusion and make a last dash this week to beat the deadline. Tax professionals warn procrastinators to be careful and avoid simple errors that can slow a refund or cause an electronically filed tax return to be rejected.

“Sit down and take another good look at it, from a checking point of view, and you’ll avoid lots of delays,” said Michael Lister, chief executive officer of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.

The tax agency automatically grants one extension to any taxpayer who asks. Additional extensions must be supported by a good explanation.

An extension means filling out Form 4868 and mailing it to the IRS by the same April 15 deadline as tax returns.

Anyone who filed a return last year can use the form as a worksheet and request the extension by telephone using a special toll-free line — 1-888-796-1074.