Hurricane survivors get a filing extension
IRS HDQTRS. — Officials here expect about 1,000 tax returns from Santa Monicans by Monday — the absolute final deadline for the most serious of procrastinators who have waited until the 11th hour to file their 2004 returns.
Although most taxpayers have long since filed their 2004 federal income tax returns, the Internal Revenue Service said about 2 million people nationwide still face the Oct. 17 filing deadline.
“That number includes an estimated 300,000 Californians who still need to file their 2004 taxes,” said Victor Omelczenko, IRS spokesman in Los Angeles. He added that about 2 percent of all Californians file extensions.
The IRS reminds taxpayers who received an additional extension in August that they should file their returns by Oct. 17 to avoid the late filing penalty, which is generally 5 percent per month of any unpaid tax. Usually the extension deadline is Oct. 15. However, this year that date falls on a Saturday so extension filers have until Monday to file their returns.
“Taxpayers may still file returns elec-tronically until Oct. 17, and some may even be able to file for free through the Free File program available at the irs.gov Web site,” Omelczenko said.
Taxpayers may use tax software on their own computers or e-file through an authorized provider. Those options offer taxpayers security and accuracy in filing their returns, as well as faster refunds. So far this year, about 8.3 million California taxpayers have filed electronically, representing more than half of the estimated 16.5 million individual returns in the state. Those taxpayers from presidentially declared disaster areas, as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, have been granted additional time — until Feb. 28, 2006 — to file their tax returns. According to recent FEMA data, about 11,000 hurricane evacuees are now in California.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 14, 2005. Read the original PDF.