Sam Romero, a tax preparer at Many Happy Return$ in Aurora, doesn’t have time for a summer vacation – at least not yet.
He’s preparing tax returns for a looming Monday deadline facing those who requested extensions to file. Romero hasn’t been this busy since mid-April.
“You don’t take any vacation at the end of July and in early August,” he said.
The Internal Revenue Service estimates that some 9 million Americans, or 7 percent of all tax filers, requested more time to file their taxes this year.
In Colorado, 146,000 taxpayers filed for extensions, said IRS spokesman David Stell.
Taxpayers who still aren’t ready will have the option of requesting an additional two- month extension, until Oct. 17, by filing IRS Form 2688, available at www.irs.gov.
“We are expecting 48,000 second extensions from Coloradans,” Stell said.
While the first extension is automatic, taxpayers need to provide an acceptable reason to the IRS to get the second extension.
Taxpayers file extensions for many reasons, tax experts said.
Sometime taxpayers, such as salespeople, need more time to close their books for the year. Owners of seasonal businesses can find themselves swamped in the spring.
Tax preparers crunched for time near the April 15 deadline may tell new clients to file an extension.
There also is a perception that tax returns filed in the summer get audited at a lower rate, Romero said.
But procrastination is the biggest reason, said Mark Luscombe, principal tax analyst at Riverwood, Ill.-based CCH Inc., which provides tax information and services to tax professionals. Procrastinators who file for an extension may do it in subsequent years even when they don’t have a legitimate reason for delaying, he added.
“Once they file for an extension one year, it sort of becomes a habit,” Luscombe said.
Romero sends out monthly notices throughout the summer to inform his clients of the pending deadline. But those who regularly push the April 15 deadline will often push the Aug. 15 deadline, he said.
Starting next year, the IRS will begin studying a revision that would allow taxpayers to receive one six-month extension.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-820-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com.
