ROCK ISLAND, Illinois -- Tax deadline day is April 15th, 2019. Those who haven't filed have until Monday at midnight. There is no penalty with the IRS for filing on the last day.
"I was really stressing about being able to file on time," Rock Island resident Elise Edens said.
Edens sat down to file her taxes in March 2019. She expected it to be similar to previous years. Her filing status is single, she claims no dependents, and doesn't have property taxes. She worked three jobs in 2018, but the multiple W-2 forms wasn't the problem.
" The summer program that I help out with, when I got paid, I didn't realize that counted as an independent contracting job," Edens said.
An independent contracting job meant she needed a different tax form.
"I would have to have a 1099 miscellaneous form instead of a W-2," Edens said.
The form wasn't included in the free package for online filing. Now, she had to pay $70 for the next cheapest option. This was an expense she wasn't expecting.
"I was either going to have to borrow money from somebody in order to file it," Edens said,
So, she put it off, until the day before the April 15th deadline.
"If I had not known what I was going to have to do and I tried to file today, I would have been in a full blown panic attack," Edens said. "I'm just happy I started in March, but I should have been more prepared."
H & R Block Officer Manager Dolly Marchand said that waiting to file is common. She says it does not change the speed of the return.
"It's`s taken approximately 21 days from the day the IRS and the state fully process your return, Marchand said."
For those who can't make the deadline, Marchand said there's an option.
"An extension allows you to file until October 15th," Marchand said.
"There`s nothing wrong with electronic filing, she said. "You can also paper file, but you do have to have your paper postmarked by midnight of the 15th."
"I definitely learned my lesson," Edens said.