(Radio Iowa) – The federal tax filing deadline is now one week away. I-R-S spokesman, Christopher Miller, says you will get a few extra days to file. “So the deadline this year is Monday, April 18th, instead of the traditional 15th. And that’s because the 15th falls on a holiday in the District of Columbia, which has the same effect as a federal holiday,” Miller says. That moves the deadline to the next business day — which is the 18th. Miller says everything appears to be going well as the deadline approaches.

“We already have well over half of the 160 million expected individual tax returns, with around 96 percent of them being e -filed, which is certainly good news from our standpoint,” Miller says. “For Iowa, we expect to receive nearly two-point-six (2.6) million individual tax returns this year.” He did not have a count on how many federal returns from Iowa have already been filed. If you see you are not going to meet the deadline — then there is an action you should take. “Taxpayers who need more time to complete their returns can request an automatic six-month extension to file. An extension allows for the extra time to gather, prepare, or file that paperwork with the I-R-S,” He says. The extension will you get until October 17th to file.

“In Iowa, we expect nearly 89-thousand taxpayers to ask for an extension of time to file. But this is important, remember that an extension to file a tax return is not an extension of time to pay your taxes. So if you owe, you will need to estimate and pay any old taxes by the regular deadline,” according to Miller. He says failing to pay by the deadline can lead to penalties and interest. He says the I-R-S encourages you to file electronically and use direct deposit for the refunds because your electronically filed returns are much more accurate than a paper return. And paper returns will be delayed in processing and in issuing a refund.