I dont know about all the rules and what not, but i was charge something like 15 bucks for filing 2 days late last year!!

If you know you're getting a refund, doesn't it stand to reason that you've already completed your taxes in order to find that out?

Of course, that means instead of *you* earning interest on your tax refund, Uncle Sam will be doing so instead.

I've come to the conclusion that history has stopped progressing. Every year there are the same stupid stories of people rushing to file their taxes as the last minute and post offices staying open until midnight, just as there's a rush of people buying plywood during hurricane season in Florida.

However, don't forget, you have three years from April 17 to file for your refund. Also, if you haven't filed past returns where you might be due a refund, you have three years to file those...

Actually not 100% true.

Your fine is:

int_rate * refund

You're losing potential interest earned on that refund (the Gov collects it). So you're still being fined. Just indirectly.

Did people really not know this?

really, why would you want the government to have your hard earned money for one second longer? they've already screwed you by overtaxing you!

@ScramDiggyBooBoo: Some of the rules are pretty simple. File on time is rule number 1.

ElizabethD and raccettura already beat me to it: any refund you get was essentially a free loan made by you to the Feds and your state government. Very generous of you, refundees. Now excuse me while I "laugh it up" adding up my capital gains from the money I saved by not overpaying taxes throughout the year.

It's not really the fault of the government if you overpay. Blame your employer (and also yourself) for not withholding the proper amount. Sure, it's a bit more complex than that if you itemize etc etc. But the government doesn't decide how much to withhold from you paycheck. Your employer does. And you have the option to ask your employer to increase or decrease your withholding.

I didn't file my taxes for about 5 straight years at one point. I finally decided it was time to do so, filed 5 years at once, and since I was getting a refund for each of those years, I didn't pay anything in fines, interest or penalties. I just filed and that was that. And I didn't become any sort of audit magnet or anything either.

I get a refund on my Federal each year so I file early, by mid February. I don't see the point in putting it off until the day before they're due. I did have to pay the state a few hundred dollars, THAT wasn't mailed until the end of March.

"So laugh it up, refundees. Play some more Legend of Zelda or reorganize your shoelace collection."

---and write yourself a moron certificate for letting the government hold and make money off of your money!

I guess I don't understand why everyone thinks it's so awful to give a "free loan" to the government. I mean, I would have just frittered it away if I'd gotten that money in my paycheck. This way I can put a big chunk in my savings account (ha, yeah right, I'm going on a vacation), and our debt-riddled government got a little mini-booster from me. Doesn't seem so bad...

Also, you've got until tomorrow to file an automatic extension with the IRS. Bear in mind that it's just a filing extension -- if you owe money, your payment still needs to be mailed in on time.

@arelys521: you should have your job automatically deposit a % of your earnings to a separate online savings account (e.g. HSBC) where you can earn over 5% interest instead of giving it to the govt for free for the year. then use all that money you saved to go on an even better vacation (or put it in 401k/IRA)

i filed a federal extension last week (was out of town for 4 months and didn't have all of my 1098/1099/W2/etc. in order) even though i'm due refunds from federal and state. just wanted to be on the safe side i guess. a lot of people forget to file state extensions b/c only a some of them extend the federal extension automatically - that's where people get hit with penalties.

@tadowguy: The reason i filed late was because I had just brought my wife to the US and i had to get her social security number to file. I guess i could have filed an extension though.

As I noted yesterday, it’s easy to file a tax extension. However, you still have to figure your taxes and pay the amount due if you want to avoid interest and late fees. But what if you’re expecting a refund?