ANNAPOLIS – State and federal officials have a message for those who have not filed tax returns yet.
Don’t panic.
There is still time left to file returns and get help, said spokesmen for the Maryland Comptroller’s Office and the Internal Revenue Service.
“It’s not the point of panic yet,” Dom LaPonzina of the IRS said Thursday.
LaPonzina said that those people who do not think they can get their taxes done by midnight Wednesday can file for an extension and pay their best guess of what they owe.
“If you don’t do anything, you have to pay failure-to-file interest penalties, monthly interest and what you owe,” he said.
The comptroller’s office offered extended phone and walk-in assistance over the weekend and it will take questions via computer e-mail any time, said Marvin Bond, a spokesman for the office.
Federal and state help will be available until 4:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday and until 5 p.m. Wednesday at the state office building at 301 West Preston St. in Baltimore.
Help for both state and federal forms will also be available at the Fallon Federal Building in Baltimore until 3:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday and until 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
IRS phone help will be available from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day until April 15.
Tax help will be offered at the main Baltimore post office until midnight Wednesday, when letter carriers will also be at Camden Yards to collect returns during the Orioles’ game.
Most area post offices will be open late April 15, but postal officials recommend calling ahead.
“Mail early in the day and double-check the weight of your return,” said Baltimore Postmaster Michael Furey. “If you’re not sure, throw on another stamp.”
For those with an aversion to snail-mail, both the IRS and the comptroller’s office allow electronic filing. And both have Internet websites that can help.
Forms and quick tips are available at the IRS site, www.irs.ustreas.gov. At the comptroller’s website, www.comp.state.md.us, a tax procrastinators’ guide is available along with forms and answers to frequently asked questions.
As of Friday, both state and federal officials reported that they had received about 70 percent of the returns from Maryland taxpayers.
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