Tax Day is here, but don't worry

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - Thanks to April 15 being on a Saturday and a federal holiday on Monday, people have three extra days to file their last minute tax returns.

Tax experts said to go ahead and file an extension if you haven't filed your taxes.

"An extension is an extremely easy file that any CPA can file," CPA David Tepper said. "An extension does not mean you get an extra six months to pay the taxes, but what it does allow you to do is not get a failure to file penalty."

Tepper said a lot of the people he sees close to the tax deadline might be people who used free tax software, but messed up somewhere along the way.

"More and more people are attempting to do their taxes themselves, which can be a blessing and a curse," Tepper said. "Because sometimes people don't really know what they're doing. Even though the software can be quite good, you only get out of the software what you put into the software. So if you don't really know what you're doing, it can lead people to make particularly unusual mistakes."

Tepper also said waiting until the last minute doesn't just cause extra stress. It can have an impact on your wallet as well.

"Particular decisions that people make, particularly purchase decisions or sale decisions, will have tax consequences at year's end," he said. "I do encourage people to be proactive about these things because you don't want to get hit with a huge tax bill. That's the last thing you want when you're filing to all of a sudden be like, 'Oh my god, I owe thousands of dollars."

Fore more information on the IRS or filing your taxes, click here.

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