It’s April 15, the most dreaded day of the year for some Iowa taxpayers.

“Each year about 50 percent of taxpaying Iowans wait until the last possible minute to send in their tax returns,” said Donna Migazzi, communications specialist with the Internal Revenue Service’s Midwest District.

The office is offering several options to assist those with tax problems, even today.

Tax returns not postmarked by today are subject to penalties.

Iowa State students and Ames residents will get a break from postal officials. Ames Post Master David Massarini said last-minute filers have until midnight to get their returns to the main post office at 525 Kellogg Ave.

To make sure the returns are postmarked today, they need to be placed in one of the four mail boxes around the main post office or in the boxes in the lobby. Postal officials will pick up returns in those boxes at midnight.

There are two mail boxes on Sixth Street, one on Kellogg and one in the alley between Fifth and Sixth Street that can be used until midnight. Filers can also use the self-service postage machine in the main post office’s lobby. The lobby is open 24-hours a day.

For the last three days, special information lines have been set up to assist last-minute filers. The toll-free number is (800) 829-1040. The lines will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. today.

Migazzi said more than 185,000 filers used the toll-free number over the past weekend.

The IRS office at 210 Walnut St. in Des Moines will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for those who have time to walk in for assistance.

A special tax-help site staffed by VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) volunteers will be set up today to prepare basic tax returns and extension forms, Migazzi said. This is available at Des Moines’ main post office, 1165 Second Ave. The service is available from 11 a.m. to midnight tonight.

Migazzi said if taxpayers need an extension, they need to file Form 4868 by midnight tonight. The extension is good for an extra four months — until August 15.

“Most people who file the 4868 don’t have all the information required to file, like a W-2. If you’re filing the 4868, you need to include an estimate of your taxes,” Migazzi said.

She said a “good rule of thumb” for the estimate is to go by what was paid last year.

Form 4868 can be downloaded to a personal computer through the IRS web site, http://www.irs.ustreas.gov or directly via modem from the Internal Revenue Information System bulletin board at (703) 487-4160, requesting item number 13141 by return fax.

The form is also available at most local IRS offices and many public libraries, including ISU’s Parks Library.

IRS Midwest District Director Bob Brazzil said meeting the deadline is key.

“Even if you can’t pay the amount in full, it’s important to file either your tax return or the extension by midnight to avoid the penalty for failing to file on time,” he said.

The failure-to-file penalty is 5 percent of the amount owed.

This percent is increased each month the taxes aren’t paid. The maximum penalty is 25 percent.

“A late payment penalty is only 0.5 percent of what you owe, so the worst thing you can do is not file at all,” Migazzi said.

Where to take your return

After the local post offices close about 5 p.m. today, last-minute filers have until midnight to get to Ames’ main post office, 525 Kellogg Ave. There are three options from there:

1) Drop off your return, with the correct postage, before midnight in one of the four mail boxes around the main post office. There are two on Sixth Street, one on Kellogg and one in the alley between Fifth and Sixth Street.

2) Drop off your return, with the correct postage, before midnight in one of the mail boxes in the lobby of the main post office. It’s open 24-hours a day.

3) If you don’t have the correct postage, or don’t know what it is, use the self-service postage machine in the lobby of the main post office, and then put your return in one of the boxes.