The pressure is on for last-minute taxpayers with only a short time left to file returns before the midnight April 15 deadline.
But help still is available until the deadline through the annual Tax-Aide program, which had 180 volunteers this year.
Hours remaining at the Tax-Aide locations are 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at Colony Cottage Recreation Center; 9 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Lady Lake Library, 225 W. Guava St.; 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday at Mulberry Grove Recreation Center; 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday at Paradise Recreation Center; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday at La Hacienda Recreation Center; and 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday at Wildwood Community Center, 6500 Highway 139. Appointments can be made at the front desk of most locations.
By the end of March, nearly 7,000 tax returns were completed through the program, a 10 percent increase from last year, at nine locations, said Jennifer Ford, Tax-Aide district coordinator. The program began Feb. 3.
Taxpayers unable to finish their returns on time have options. Here are some last-minute tax tips:
• Request and extension: A taxpayer can request an automatic six-month extension if their return cannot be completed by April 15. But those who request extensions still are required to pay good faith estimates of their taxes owed or to contact the IRS to arrange installment payments.
• File and amended return: Taxpayers who realize their filed returns may contain errors, receive new or corrected forms or forget a deduction have until three years from the due date of the original return to file amended returns.
• Get Tax-Aide assistance: The program continues during the summer and fall to help with amended returns, letters from the IRS, late returns or questions. Hours are 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursdays, May 22 through Oct. 9, except July 3, Aug. 14 and Aug. 23, on the second floor of the Lady Lake Library. No appointment is needed.
ord said the most memorable return she prepared this year was for a woman who recently lost her husband.