| Filing late taxes is always a little awkward; there's the | | | | collection efforts are getting gentler and friendlier all the |
| admission of taxes owed, and the discovery that | | | | time. The IRS would rather have some of your money |
| those owed taxes come with some fines and interest | | | | the easy way than waste a lot of energy and end up |
| attached. But really, if you're going to file 2008 income | | | | with none of it, so when you file 2008 income taxes, |
| taxes, you should know that it's not so bad: the | | | | you might find that they're quite lenient. |
| average late filer is actually more likely to get a refund. | | | | But how do you file? 2008 income taxes aren't the |
| And the refunds late filers get are bigger than | | | | taxes most sites and software are currently expecting |
| average, too. | | | | you to deal with. They might be designed for quarterly |
| Why? It's hard to say. The best guess is that people | | | | filings, or they might be getting geared up for 2009 |
| who miss paying their taxes are just regular folks who | | | | payments. But if you want to file 2008 income taxes, |
| got behind for unpredictable reasons. If you file your | | | | you can still do it. You'll just have to pick a site that |
| 2008 income tax on the day they're due, it probably | | | | specializes in helping people file 2008 income taxes. |
| means you didn't suffer some kind of financial disaster, | | | | There are lots of sites out there for standard filings, |
| medical emergency, or family crisis that kept you from | | | | and you might expect something unusual to come with |
| doing so. By the same token, someone who needs to | | | | a hefty pricetag. But there's no reason to worry - |
| file 2008 income taxes a few months late might have | | | | most of the extra work can be done by a computer, |
| been hit by one of those scenarios. | | | | and what can't be done by computer (the judgment |
| There's other good news for anyone who wants to | | | | calls about how to file, how to negotiate with the IRS, |
| file! 2008 income taxes are just as useful to the Feds | | | | etc.) are best left up to the experts anyway. You may |
| months later - in fact, right now they're more useful | | | | find that your tax filing experience is a lot more |
| than ever, because of the soaring deficits and tight | | | | pleasant than you expected. And the end result just |
| state fiscal situation. The upshot of all this is that | | | | might be a hefty refund. |