By Tim Pennington
Enquirer contributor

Most people dread April 15, the tax filing due date. Those who received a four-month extension from the Internal Revenue Service soon came to loath Aug.15.

And now with the Oct.15 final deadline looming for those granted an additional two months to file their 2003 taxes, the procrastinators are about to run out of time.

"We certainly understand there may be hardships or extenuating circumstances, but the time is nearing to get it all done and in our hands," said Chris Kerns, IRS spokesman in Cincinnati.

HOW TO GET AN EXTENSION

If you can't meet the April 15 deadline to file your tax return, you can get a four-month extension from the IRS. The extension will give you extra time to get the paperwork in to the IRS, but it does not extend the time you have to pay any tax due. • You will owe interest on any amounts not paid by the April deadline, plus a late payment penalty if you have paid less than 90 percent of your total tax by that date. • You must make an accurate estimate of any tax due when you request an extension. You may also send a payment for the expected balance due, but this is not required to obtain the extension. • To get the automatic extension, file Form 4868, Application for Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, with the IRS by the April 15 deadline, or make an extension-related electronic payment. • You can also file your extension request by phone or by computer instead of using the paper Form 4868. • The IRS has a toll-free phone line for people to request extensions by telephone. The number is (888) 796-1074. It is available until midnight April 15, local time. Use Form 4868 as a worksheet to prepare for the call and have a copy of your last tax return. The system will give you a confirmation number to signify that the extension request has been accepted. Put this confirmation number on your copy of Form 4868 and keep it for your records. Do not send the form to the IRS. • You may also e-file an extension request using tax preparation software on your own computer or by going to a tax preparer. • If you ask for an extension by phone or computer, you can choose to pay any expected balance due by authorizing an electronic funds withdrawal. • You may also get an extension by making an extension-related credit card payment by phone or the Internet. Contact one of the service providers below. The processor will charge you a convenience fee for the credit card payment. See the instructions for Form 4868 for more information on how to make an extension-related electronic payment. Official Payments Corp. (800) 2PA-YTAX , or (800) 272-9829 www.officialpayments.com Link2Gov Corp. (888) PAY-1040, or (888) 729-1040 www.pay1040.com • To obtain copies of these or other forms and publications, call the IRS at (800) TAX-FORM, or (800) 829-3676, or you may download them from its Web site, www.IRS.gov. This site provides other information for individual and business taxpayers. --Source: Internal Revenue Service Internet resources • www.IRS.gov • www.GretaGram.com • www.unclefed.com • www.wwwebtax.com • www.funwithtaxes.com

An estimated 9 million taxpayers filed for an extension when their taxes were due in April, although they were still required to pay at least 90 percent of what they thought was due, if any, at the time of the extension request.

Those who didn't file their return in April, or who didn't request an extension, are subject to a penalty of 5 percent per month for any unpaid tax.

Of those who filed for an extension, about one-third - or 3 million taxpayers - requested an additional two months until Oct. 15.

Darryl Blitzer, a certified public accountant who runs his own firm in Sharonville, said the four-month extension is more commonplace than ever before, and the IRS doesn't make that much of a fuss about the request.

"It's almost automatic these days that an extension will be granted if you ask," Blitzer said. "The big thing is to pay what you think you owe. That keeps you out of trouble."

Blitzer said most clients he files extensions for have numerous documents they are still waiting to receive, such as partnership information, capital gains forms or missing earnings reports.

"These days it takes so much time to get the right documents and paperwork from everyone that it makes it very difficult to get a final return filed on time," he said. "I've had people wait an entire year to get the right document so they can file. You don't want to file a false return."

Kerns said that after the Aug. 15 deadline, the IRS will grant the additional two months to file only for good cause.

Kerns said most people who file extensions do not owe taxes but actually are due a refund. In fact, 80 percent of all taxpayers filing returns receive money back from the government.

Some taxpayers do not file a return because they believe they don't owe additional taxes, Kerns said.

"There are some unusual circumstances, but everyone has to file a return no matter if they owe more money or not," he said. "Most people get earned income credits that cause a refund, but if a tax return is not filed, then we can't send the money out. We literally have billions of dollars sitting in accounts that can't be paid."

The most recent IRS data is from 2000 and shows unclaimed refunds totaling more than $2.5 billion awaiting nearly 2 million people who failed to file an income tax return that year. The IRS estimates that half of those who could claim refunds would receive more than $529.

In the case of taxpayers who can't pay all the taxes they owe, the IRS offers an installment plan to assist with payments, though the agency is still aggressive about collecting.

"The IRS is not a pleasant creditor - they have lots of hammers such as a lien, levy and seizure to use on you," said Greta Hicks, a CPA and former IRS manager who runs a Web site, www.GretaGram.com, from her home in Houston.

"Also, just because you have an agreement with one IRS employee doesn't mean the next individual will honor that agreement," she said. Blitzer said he sympathizes with taxpayers who have trouble filing their return on time.

"It's a complicated system," he said.

"Even I have a hard time keeping this stuff straight. It's got to be tough for the average taxpayer."

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E-mail timpennington@fuse.net