Did you request an income tax filing extension last Spring? We did, and the deadline for filing our return is now just a day away. The good news is that I actually figured everything out prior to the deadline last spring. However, there were a few last minute AMT-related details that I wanted to nail down before filing. So…

I submitted Form 4868 along with a payment for our expected tax liability — in order to avoid an late payment penalties, you still have to pay even if you request an extension — and then promptly set our return aside until this past weekend. On Sunday, I fired up Turbo Tax, double-checked a few things on our return, and then printed it out and packaged it up. Why do I still submit hard copies? Well…

I file hard copies partly because it’s free (aside from the cost of postage) and partly because it (supposedly) reduces the likelihood of an income tax audit. In fact, filing for an extension also (again, supposedly) reduces your the chances of getting audited. Given that we don’t really have any major red flags, I overly worried about an audit, but you never know…

Anyway, this is really just a long-winded reminder to mail your tax return by tomorrow if you haven’t already done so. Oh, and don’t forget to sign it!