If you really want to be late to file for your tax returns, you can easily find a hundred and one excuses. For example, you can claim to be too busy at work. Or you can say that you have clean forgotten about filing for taxes. Of course, IRS won't pay any attention to your excuses. And you will probably end up having to pay penalties for submitting your tax returns late.



Just to be clear, the official deadline is April 15th, by midnight. So even if it's April 15th, 11p.m., you can still be on time. If that is the case, you have only one route to choose - efile your income tax online. You will never be able to meet the deadline if you pursue the traditional route - sending your forms through snail mail. By the time your forms arrive at IRS, you would have missed the deadline. Penalties will then apply.

When you efile, the information can be transmitted directly to IRS, and you can still be on time. Just hope and pray that you have all the necessary with you at this very last moment. Otherwise, you will still end up late.

This is why it is always advisable to get your accounts straight as early as possible. Never wait till the last minute to work on your previous year's earnings. The deadline is April 15th. The financial year ends at Dec. 31st. So you have approximately 4 months to work on your accounts. No reason why you should leave everything to the list minute. That will just stress everyone out - you, your accountant, and your spouse.

Assuming that you have your income reports ready, efiling is going to be a downhill ride. If this is the first time you are efiling, you will need to create an account, using your SSN number as your user name. You will also be able to choose a password. Make sure you have some way of remembering the password because you will need it again the next time you access the website. Most likely, you will need the password a few times each year. So there is a very high chance you may forget the password. Pick one that you are confident of recalling.

There is no additional software to be installed. Everything is done through your Internet browser. Information is transmitted through the Internet (which is a public network) but it will be encrypted by a secure connection.

The actual efiling process is simply a matter of filling in some online forms. The forms will be presented to you in a wizard format. If you have your income reports at hand, you will know which forms to use. Once you have completed the forms, simply hit submit and your tax return will be submitted to IRS immediately. It will be processed within 7 to 10 days.