Tax deadline tonight, Jacksonville tax preparer says filing an extension may help ease stress

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The clock is ticking for you to file your income tax return this year.

And as that deadline is 11:59 p.m. Monday, April 15, the IRS said millions of taxpayers across the nation will be working on their tax returns during these final few hours.

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The IRS estimates 19 million taxpayers will file for an automatic extension.

Action News Jax spoke with a local tax preparer who breaks down the steps you can take if you file at the last minute.

“People are going to be panicking and I say don’t panic,” John Vargo, the owner of Accu-Tax and Financial Services Corp., said.

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If you are trying to beat the clock, Vargo said filing an extension may help ease the pain and stress.

“If you file an extension, you have an extra six months to file,” Vargo said.

But Vargo said an extension does not mean you will avoid penalties and interest.

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“If you file an extension, you’re still going to accrue penalty from the IRS in interest,” Vargo said. “If you do not file an extension, and you file your taxes say in a month, two months, or three months, you are going to have a 5% per month on the balance, and that’s a big deal. So filing an extension is the right thing to do.”

The big thing to remember is you should not skip filing. If you do, you will have to pay a penalty for failing to file, in addition to failing to pay the taxes owed.

“I really encourage people to do the right thing and file your taxes, pay your taxes if you owe, pay on time, file an extension, do everything you can to avoid that rabbit hole of going down and having to battle the IRS,” Vargo said.

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