For those of us who filed a tax extension this year, we’ve officially crossed the halfway mark for locating, organizing, and filing all of that detailed information.
By October 17, 2016, all federal and Ohio taxes will need to be completed.
Whether you filed an extension due to lack of paperwork or lack of funds, it’s important to remember that extending your deadline for filing does not affect when your payment is due. If you owe taxes for 2015, the IRS can start issuing you penalties and additional interest starting in April, despite acquiring an approved extension first.
If you’re still scrambling to get your taxes together, use the guide below to make sure you know where to go from here.
- Create a list of information and paperwork that you still need to file your return. This is where tax return checklists come in handy.
- If you haven’t already done so, gather and organize income, expenses, and other tax documents now to save useful time later.
- Take care of any balance you owe from April as soon as possible, as late fees are often based on the amount still owed.
- Complete as much of your return as soon as you can, making estimates if need be to return to later.
- Label receipts and other documents with their business purpose and keep notes on how you arrived at the information you’ve entered so far.