U.S.

No Time To Clown Around On Taxes

April 15, 2005 / 12:22 PM EDT / CBS/AP

If you've waited until now to begin filling out your tax forms, you may run out of time.

The National Taxpayer's Union estimates it takes almost 27 hours to prepare the Form 1040 and its most common supporting schedules.

But ominously, the group's president says those numbers probably understate the time involved.

The Postal Service was gearing up for Tax Day: It expects more than three times as many telephone calls, most looking for the nearest post office open late. Last year, the USPS received 538,200 calls on April 15.

Its information number, 800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777) will have operators answering calls until 3:30 a.m. EDT Saturday. Automated assistance is available 24 hours a day. Last-minute filers also can log onto www.usps.com for a complete listing of local Post Offices and extended hours by typing in their ZIP Code.

CBS News Correspondent Steve Kathan reports a big sign outside New York City's main post office Friday morning read "Outstanding On Tax Day — We'll be standing on the curb on Tax Day."

One taxpayer told him he likes living on the edge, and even though he's getting a refund, he always files at the last minute.

The IRS estimates that, on average, 10 percent of Americans wait until the last day to file or mail their taxes or ask for an extension. That means the Postal Service will handle more than 6.5 million tax forms on April 15.

Among the stunts planned for local post offices Friday:

Employees of the office supply chain Staples will photocopy tax forms outside post offices across the country.
For those who don't bleed enough on Tax Day, a blood drive is planned for the Coco River Branch in Naples, FL.
In Birmingham, Ala., the Central City Neighborhood Association will host a "1040 Fest," with signature meals from local restaurants offered at $10.40.
Kansas City, Mo., postal employees will celebrate the grand opening of a new post office in the city's historic Union Station.
Bahama Breeze restaurants are providing Steel Drum bands in Florida.
CBS radio affiliate WBT in Charlotte and stations in Raleigh, Atlanta, San Francisco and elsewhere will broadcast live from local post offices.
Subway sandwiches and Krispy Kreme donuts await those mailing tax returns at the Salt Lake City downtown post office.

However, there may be less of a crowd at your local post office this year, with many filers turning to "e-filing:" Filing via the Internet. The federal government and many states are encouraging more taxpayers to file electronically.

A few years ago, tax deadline day would have produced a long line of cars at Duluth's main post office through midnight, with U.S. Postal Service employees assisting harried taxpayers trying to meet the deadline for filing their individual income tax returns.

But electronic filing has changed all that. Friday was expected only to be "a normal heavy day," said Margaret Campbell, USPS spokeswoman in Duluth.

Minnesota leads the nation in e-filing. As of last week, of the 1.5 million federal income tax returns filed in the state, 1.2 million were filed electronically, by telephone or computer, according to Internal Revenue Service spokesman Eric Erickson in Atlanta.

Nationwide, 55.7 million of 82.7 million returns processed have been e-filed, according to an IRS news release.

"Minnesota is really good," Erickson said. "Minnesotans are completely e-filing."

As a result, no post offices in Minnesota will have extended hours on Tax Day.

There are numerous ideas floating around Capitol Hill on how best to improve matters. Some Republicans want to eliminate the IRS and abolish tax returns and the current tax system.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) is pushing for a "flatter and fairer" system that eliminates the "tyranny of anxiety" that everyone feels on April 15th.

The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform plans to issue a report in a few months.