For most of the country, April 18 is the filing deadline. However, filing and payment deadlines have been automatically extended to Oct. 16 if you have an address in a federally declared disaster area.
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That includes Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties after recent winter storms and subsequent weather damage. If you live in a different county, but have a business located in one of those covered counties, you also qualify for the extension.
"If you have your documents together anyway, you should maybe file. Last tax season, about 75% of taxpayers received a refund, and the average refund was over $3,000," said Lisa Greene Lewis, CPA and tax expert with TurboTax. "That's a lot of money, and you could just have that money and also not worry about it."
If you're in an affected county, you also qualify for an extension to file a state tax return and pay taxes owed until Oct. 16.
The IRS will automatically identify taxpayers located in the covered disaster areas. To view a full list of affected counties, visit the IRS website.
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If you don't qualify for an extension, you can request one, or file no later than Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.
If you've filed already and are getting a refund, the IRS says you should get the money in 21 days or less. The IRS also says there is no backlog for returns.