Tax procrastination can cost you dearly

updated 12:53 p.m. ET Feb. 21, 2005

WASHINGTON - The deadline is the same every year and every year it sneaks up on you.

Getting to work early on that tax return, due April 15, will not only ease some stress but also prevent some costly mistakes.

“Start now. Start early,” said Mark Steber, vice president of tax resources for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. “The later you wait, the less opportunity you’re going to have to maximize your tax position.”

If this is the year to finally end the procrastinating, stop focusing on the April 15 deadline, suggests Michelle Tullier, author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Overcoming Procrastination.”

Think instead about breaking the task down into smaller jobs. Set a date and time to do each one.

“Don’t wait for the motivation or desire to do your taxes because it may never come,” she said.

If you are one of the millions of taxpayers who ask the Internal Revenue Service every year for an extension, ask yourself if you really need the extra time or whether you are just labeling yourself a perpetual procrastinator when it comes to taxes.

The number of people who request an automatic extension creeps up annually, to more than 8.5 million last year.

At the minimum, everyone needs to start by pulling together the paperwork that applies to their tax situation, Steber said. That covers those who do their taxes themselves or hand the job over to someone else.

There are dozens of records and receipts that might yield tax benefits, including unreimbursed work expenses, charitable donations, tuition payments, mortgage and home equity loan documents, medical bills, home office expenses and union dues.

Assembling these documents can get your tax preparer started early. For the do-it-yourself types, avoid the temptation to gather all the documentation and plow through your entire job in one, miserable Saturday.

“Focus on do dates, as in D-O, not due dates, as in D-U-E,” Tullier said. “Schedule actual dates and times to tackle each stop in the process leading up to April 15.”

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