Dear Just Be: I am still working on preparing my taxes. What happens if I turn them in late?

Yes, its is the final hours before your taxes are technically due to the IRS. But don't fret. The IRS does allow for extensions, which will give you more time to complete your tax forms. Better to file completely and accurately through an extension, then to turn in faulty returns.

The nitty gritty of filing for a return is this:

You must complete and submit Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File on or before April 15 and the IRS will give you six more months, until Oct. 15, to fulfill your tax-filing duties. The form is only a half page in length and requires basic information, such as name, address and Social Security number. The IRS does not require a reason for filing an extension.

The IMPORTANT thing to note though, is that this does not allow you to pay your taxes owed at that later date - only to complete all of the paperwork. Therefore, you need to figure out if you are going to owe or not. If you do owe taxes, you need to pay that amount, or a close estimate, along with your filing extension. And it pays to pay the amount owed now, as you will be subjected to nonfiling penalties and interest charges if you do not pay now.

If you owe more taxes than you were expecting to have to pay, you have several options available to you.

1. Pay at least part of the amount owed - as this will help minimize the interest and penalty charges that will accrue.

2. Arrange to pay in installments - use Form 9465.

3. You can charge any taxes due to your Visa, American Express, MasterCard or Discover credit card. Be forewarned though - you will be charged an additional service fee of 2.35% of your charge amount. Contact either of the two companies below to complete an electronic extension request and to give your credit card information:

a. Official Payments Corp. at 800-2PAYTAX (800-272-9829)
b. Link2Gov Corp. at (888) PAY1040 (800-729-1040)

Now if you are really running behind and filing for your extension, go online and file Form 4868 electronically - either by yourself or with a paid preparer.

And for you folks fortunate enough not to owe taxes this year, and will be receiving a refund, an extension request is not necessary and there isn't a penalty. However, until you actually file, you will not receive your refund.

Now get going...the clock is ticking!