You’re Not Alone: Here’s How Many Americans Are Waiting Until the Last Minute to File Taxes
Americans are waiting even longer to file their taxes this year.
About 4 million fewer people have filed their taxes by April 7 than compared to the same time last year — continuing a trend of last-minute filing, Bloomberg reported.
Last year, the International Revenue Service reported that one-fifth of all Americans who filed taxes in 2016 did so between April 8 and April 22. That's 29 million individual returns just days before the deadline.
Bloomberg points to online tax filing as a reason so many Americans are delaying filing their returns. In the past, filing taxes was done by snail mail, creating long lines at the post office and requiring more time to complete the process.
Americans are in luck this year, as they have a few extra days to file since taxes are due on April 18 instead of the traditional deadline of April 15.
But not all is lost if you still miss the deadline. There's still time to submit applications to extend filings up until October through the IRS.