by Catherine Walsh, CPA MBT

The tax filing season has begun. This will be a challenging year because of the delays in IRS form completion which will unfortunately delay processing of returns. This is due to the last minute law changes – especially the 2007 “AMT patch.” Additionally, some custodians are seeking an extension from the IRS for the time that they have to report your income to you on various 1099 forms.

So instead of receiving all your 1099 forms on January 31st as you have in the past, you may be receiving some of them on February 28th instead. You may be wondering if you should delay initiating the process until you have all of the forms in place. I would advise you not to delay but to start getting organized now by gathering all of the information you have and either starting to process your own return, or making an appointment to see your tax advisor (explaining to him or her that some of your forms have been delayed this year).

If your tax advisor thinks that based on what you are missing, that it might be wise to file for an extension this year, he or she will have more time to carefully review your situation and advise you as to what estimated extension payments are necessary (if any) before he or she becomes too busy in March and April to give your situation their undivided attention.

Remember that as long as you pay your taxes on time and request a proper extension, that you will not be penalized for filing an extension. You may find that filing the extension is the right choice this year because you will end up having more time to discuss planning opportunities with your tax advisor when he or she has more time.

Another side benefit is that you may just reduce your feeling of stress and that is a good thing!