Title: Procrastinators Guide to Tax Filing [MUSIC]

Brigid Bergin: It's the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. I'm Brigid Bergin, filling in for Brian today. If you haven't checked the calendar, it's the day before tax day, but procrastinators, we've got you covered. We're going to end today's show with frequently asked questions about filing your taxes to help you get it all done before tomorrow's deadline. Joining me now is Andy Phillips, vice president of the Tax Institute at H&R Block in Kansas City, Missouri. Andy, welcome to WNYC.

Andy Phillips: Hi there, and thank you so much for having me.

Brigid: Listeners, we're going to open up the phones right away for you. Now is your chance. Ask an expert your questions about filing your taxes. No need to spend that cash on an accountant for this one. Call or text us at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. Get your last-minute tax questions answered. Andy, we've established tomorrow, April 15th, is the deadline to file those taxes, but what exactly is due tomorrow? Are both your state and federal returns due? If you owe money, does the payment need to be made tomorrow as well?

Andy: That's a great question, Brigid, to get us started. Look, for the vast majority of Americans, their federal tax returns are due tomorrow, April 15th. In addition, New York returns are due tomorrow as well. What does that mean? What is really due? First, yes, filing a tax return or at least an extension by the due date is required to avoid any potential penalties and interest. Let's break that down a little more.

Now, if you're expecting a refund, generally, no penalties or interest are going to apply because they accrue or based on the amount you owe after the due date. If you're a refund filer, you want to go ahead and file to get that money in your pocket. If you owe, that's where it does start to matter. It's important that you file a return or extension by the due date. If you request an extension, it's really important to remember that's only an extension of time to file, not pay.

No matter whether you file a return or extension, you need to calculate how much you expect to owe and submit that by tomorrow to avoid any potential penalties and interest from the IRS and then generally from the state of New York as well. They have a small exception where you may avoid a penalty if you only owe a little bit, but for most folks, they need to get that payment made by tomorrow. If you are requesting an extension, it's important if you're in New York that you not just file the federal extension, but you also request an extension with the state of New York as well.

Brigid: That surprised me. I didn't realize that you actually had to make that payment tomorrow as well. Even if you do get the extension, you still have to pay that money by tomorrow. That's a good tip. For those of you out there who didn't know it, too, make sure that you're aware.

Andy: Absolutely. Here's another thing, though. Maybe you can't pay. Even if you cannot pay on time, it's really important that folks still file. The penalty for failing to file on time can be up to 10 times as much as the penalty for just failing to pay.

Brigid: Whoa.

Andy: File on time, you're reducing your penalty exposure, and then you can work to maybe get into an installment agreement or a payment plan to pay over time.

Brigid: A listener texted, "If I filed an extension for a New York State personal tax, do I need to file for a New York City extension? If so, which form or website?"

Andy: Let's see. I believe that when it comes to filing a New York extension, that that should also extend the due date for any local tax as well.

Brigid: Great. Then, Andy, if people are in this situation right now and they're cramming to get everything done, is it okay to try and tackle your return on your own, or is it better to get your taxes done by a professional?

Andy: When it comes to filing on your own or with a pro, at some level, it comes down to your comfort and confidence that you're getting it right. What you need to think about are two things. One, if you have a particularly complex tax situation, maybe you own a business or you-- Let's just talk about owning a business.

Brigid: Sure.

Andy: Folks really just think about the income tax side, but working with a professional, if you have employees, they can help you with payroll. Even if you don't have employees, a professional can help you with bookkeeping. They can help you making sure you've got the right entity formed for your business for tax advantages. Working with a pro on the business side can really add additional confidence that you're getting it right across the board and give you more time back to focus on your business.

Now, for individuals, if you've got a particularly complex situation, you may say, "I need to leave it to the pros." For folks who typically file on their own, here's a situation where you may want to think about getting professional guidance or at least doing your own research is when you had a big life change. Maybe you got married this year, and you're like, "Shoot, should we--" You can't file. If you're legally married by the end of 2024, you can't file single anymore. Are we better off to file jointly or separately?

That may be something where you just run the numbers with your DIY software, and you may be able to figure it out on your own, but you may have other questions. Maybe you or your spouse are on an income-driven repayment plan for student loans, and you want to say, "What income gets taken into account based on my filing status for that? That's just an example of a complexity when you have a life change. That first year, you may want to think about tax help to make sure you're not leaving any money on the table.

Brigid: If you're just joining us, we're taking your last-minute tax filing questions with Andy Phillips from H&R Block in Kansas City. The number 212-433-WNYC, that's 212-433-9692. We're actually getting a lot of text questions, Andy. A listener writes, "What do you do if your former employer hasn't sent you a W-2 yet?"

Andy: There's a couple options here. First, if you've already followed up with them and made sure they didn't send it via mail or make it electronically available to you, a couple options. One is you can go to the IRS website and create an online account with the IRS. You're going to have to prove your identity because they want to, for instance, for me, make sure it's really Andy creating this account because he's now going to have access to tax information for Andy. That takes a little bit of time.

If you create the account, you may see if the IRS has the W-2 on file. The other option is you can file with what they call a substitute W-2. It's Form 4852. You're generally going to use your last pay stub to fill out really a substitute W-2 to complete your return. You may be missing some things, so this isn't ideal, but if it's your only option left, that's one thing you can do. Go look at your last pay stub, and you should be able to figure it out, for the most part, to submit a return. Again, if you're totally struggling with that, maybe a good year to speak with a tax professional-

Brigid: Sure.

Andy: -and see if they can help you with it.

Brigid: Andy, a listener texts, "Are there any people who do not have to file taxes?"

Andy: There are. Actually, the general situation where people don't have to file is they don't make enough money. The income level at which you have to file is going to vary based on things like your filing status and the type of income you have. For instance, if you have self-employment income from a business, the threshold is much lower, where if you have $400 or more in that business income, you've got to file. If you've just got W-2 wages, the threshold gets higher. Here's something to consider. I guess what I'd say is for filing requirements, you can go to www.hrblock.com and check out our tax information center, and it'll give you those very specific thresholds to tell you if you need to file.

Brigid: We're going to try to-- Oh.

Andy: Oh, go ahead.

Brigid: Did you finish your answer? Go for it.

Andy: I was to say one last thing on that. Even though folks are not required to file, they may find it's in their best interest to do so because they're going to get a refund. That can be from taxes withheld during the year, or it can be from a credit, particularly if you have children. Even if not, you may still qualify for a refund, so you're better off filing to get that money.

Brigid: I want to sneak in a couple callers. We're getting short on time. Let's go to Lara in Queens. Your question for Andy, quickly if you can.

Lara: I'm trying to max out my 2024 Roth IRA. Do I have to have that money in tonight, which would be before April 15th, or can I do it tomorrow, April 15th, by midnight when the taxes are due?

Andy: That's a great question. Good for you for saving for retirement. For 2024, you have up until the due date. It's tomorrow to make, whether it's a traditional or a Roth contribution.

Brigid: Let's go to Paul in Manhattan. Paul, you're on WNYC. Your question for Andy, quick if you can.

Paul: Good morning. I'd like to ask, is there a way to audit your auditors? If you have an auditor that does your taxes, do they have a record with the IRS if they're very overaggressive, taking deductions that the IRS disallows? The IRS then says, "Hey, you have a lot of filings that you have to correct." How does a consumer or a customer find out how good your auditors are?

Andy: It's tough to get that information from the IRS. It's a great question. Thank you for asking. A couple of things you can do is you can check their reviews online and see, what do the reviews look like? Are other people making this same complaint? Here's another thing you may consider is, and this is specific to H&R Block, but if you've never filed with H&R Block before or you haven't filed for the last couple years, we do a free, what we call second look. What we do is we go pull your information from the IRS, your income documents and things like that, and we can go back three years. It's completely free.

We'll go back three years and see if we come up with a different result to help you understand, one, maybe you're leaving money on the table, or two, maybe there are some deductions that are a little bit on the risky side or cannot be fully substantiated. With that second look review from H&R Block, which again is free to just get that peace of mind, it can help you get some confidence, whether you're running in a risk you don't want to run.

Brigid: Andy, just real quickly, besides H&R Block, any other sites you would point people to where they could do their taxes for free online?

Andy: I'd say, actually, when it comes to doing your taxes for free, H&R Block, almost 3.5 million people filed for free using our online DIY products last year. It actually is more expansive than the vast majority of online services that are available. I'd really keep people there first to focus. If that doesn't work for you, you can also check free file from the IRS website.

Brigid: Thank you so much. We're going to leave it there for now. My guest was Andy Phillips, vice president of the Tax Institute, H&R Block in Kansas City, Missouri. Andy, thanks so much.

Andy: Thank you for having me.

Brigid: The Brian Lehrer Show's producers are Lisa Allison, Mary Croke, Amina Srna, Carl Boisrond, and Esperanza Rosenbaum. Our intern is Henry Serringer. Megan Ryan is the head of Live Radio. Juliana Fonda and Milton Ruiz are at the studio controls. I'm Brigid Bergin, and this is the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC.

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