SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Monday 4/15 is the deadline to file your 2018 federal tax return, but that deadline is extended for Massachusetts residents.
Many western Massachusetts residents filed their tax returns Monday, just two days before the state’s April 17 deadline.
According to the IRS, going into last weekend, 50 million people had yet to file their tax returns. Massachusetts residents get two extra days to file our returns, due to Patriots Day on Monday and Emancipation Day (a holiday celebrated in Washington, D.C.) on Tuesday.
Liberty Tax in West Springfield explained why waiting to file could put you at risk for identity theft.
“The longer you wait to file your tax returns and get it on record with the IRS and the state, that increases the probability that someone will steal your identity,” Ray Maagaro explained. “That’s something you don’t want to happen.”
Maagaro told 22News, if you’re not ready, you can apply for an extension, but any tax payments that may be due, must be paid.
If you don’t file by Wednesday’s deadline, the IRS will impose a 5 percent penalty of your unpaid taxes for each month your tax return is late. If you file your taxes but don’t pay them, the IRS will charge .5 percent of your unpaid taxes every month they remain unpaid.
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