Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The deadline is officially here. Wednesday, April 15 is the tax filing deadline, are you prepared, or are you getting an extension? Mark Gallegos, CPA, representing the Illinois CPA Society, talked with Will Stevenson on the WTAX Morning Newswatch Wednesday.

If it’s simple, should I E-file, or get the extension?

“If you haven’t done anything yet and even haven’t gathered your documents, then I would recommend at this point an extension,” said Gallegos.  “However, if your return is simple, if you have the time, then yeah, you still have some time to get it done. Like you said, get it done by midnight, get it e-filed.”

What exactly is an extension?

“An extension gives us the ability to extend the tax return until October 15th. It seems like, okay, great, I got it six months to file my return. But it’s just an extension of time to file, but if you owe money, then you got to pay that money by today or you will incur penalties,” said Gallegos.  “So, you got to kind of look at your situation. They say, ‘Am I going to get a refund? Do I owe money?’ And that’s why talking to a CPA is probably the most important piece of this.”

How can I be prepared for next year’s tax season?

“This past year…we had the HR1, ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ pass, with a lot of provisions in there that impacted a lot of American taxpayers,” said Gallegos.  “And many will see that on this year’s return, but, you know, just because you didn’t see it all this year, planning for it this year to make sure you are setting yourself up to put yourself in the best tax position is key. And I think there’s a lot of things between now, a lot of people file their return. They’re like, ‘All right I don’t have to worry about it for a year.’ Well, the reality is, if you really want to try to save on taxes, between now and the end of this year is the time to be proactively looking at what can I be doing to set myself up for success when it comes to income taxes?”