Today's a taxing day for procrastinators

(CNN) -- Whether you've been busy or in denial, it's time to face facts: it's April 15, and your 1996 U.S. federal income tax must be filed by midnight.

Post offices in nearly every major city will extend their hours or offer late mail pickups on Tuesday. If you want to know whether your local post office is one of them, call that office, the Postal Service said. The post office must postmark your return by midnight in order for the Internal Revenue Service to consider it on time.

For the first time, the IRS will also accept filings delivered from four private delivery services -- Airborne Express, DHL Worldwide Express, Federal Express, and United Parcel Service.

And, you can still file electronically. An estimated 19.2 million people will do so this year.

You've already squared things off with the IRS? Then maybe you can better enjoy the festivities arranged by some post offices. At the post office in the Northern California city of Pleasanton, for example, taxpayers can seek revenge by dunking an IRS agent in a water tank.

Some other interesting tax day facts:

• The IRS collected $1.5 trillion for the 1996 fiscal year. It has asked for $7.4 billion for its 1998 budget.

• The number of tax forms downloaded from the IRS Internet page: 3.7 million, through March. If you need to download any forms, you can get them at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov.

• You can also fax or telephone a plea for help. The TaxFax service sends tax forms to your fax machine: 703-487-4160. For toll-free tax assistance call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The lines will have extended hours from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, through Tuesday.

• "Tax Freedom Day," is on May 9 this year, the Tax Foundation said Monday. Tax Freedom Day is the day the foundation says average Americans have earned enough to pay their state, local, and federal taxes. According to the group, last year, Tax Freedom Day was May 7.

Taxpayers who can't complete their tax returns by the deadline can receive a four-month extension by sending in IRS Form 4868. Form 4868 doesn't give you an extension on paying the taxes you owe, though -- you still have to estimate your taxes, and the more you can pay now, the less you'll have to pay later in interest and penalties.

Special section:

• Tax Bytes

Related stories:

• IRS gets tough on celebrities - April 15, 1997

Related site:

• IRS: Digital Daily - Internal Revenue Service's home page - note: site may be difficult to access due to increased traffic.

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