Despite extended deadline to May, many already filed taxes ahead of April 15

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - ‘Tax Day’ may still be printed on calendars across America, but earlier this year, the IRS extended the filing deadline.

Individuals will have until May 17 to complete the process. Both Kentucky and Indiana made the same decision regarding state taxes too.

For many tax preparers, April 15 is a day that typically means long hours and a race against the clock.

“Oh, this day would be crazy,” Richard Zenger, the owner of Zenger & Young Tax Service said. “I know, not last year, but the year before, we did 179 returns on the last day.”

However, this year, Zenger’s waiting room was empty and his office was calm.

“Almost normal, but, today is not normal,” he said.

Despite the deadline extensions, the tax professional said most of his regular clients have already filed.

“Customers are acting as today’s the deadline,” Zenger said. “They seem to have been on top of filing. I think a lot of that has to do with the stimulus.”

He adds people also might not have known the deadline was pushed back.

“File your taxes, even if you owe, because if you don’t, you’re going to pay for it dearly in the end,” he said.

Zenger said there are some differences people might notice in the tax process this year.

For example, there are some changes to how premium tax credits are treated.

Also, taxes on trusts and estates didn’t get the extension individual income did. So, filings or extensions for those are still due on April 15.

Zenger said the biggest change people may notice is that it’s taking about three weeks longer to get refunds from the IRS.

“They’re putting out $1,400 stimuluses left and right, trying to correct unemployment, they’ve been under a lot of pressure,” Zenger said. “I wouldn’t want to work there.”

The tax preparer said customers are now showing up to his office at pre-pandemic levels.

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