Nevadans seek extensions as tax filing deadline nears

Few people enjoy filing tax returns, but it seems Las Vegans like handling the paperwork a little less than most others.

Las Vegas landed at No. 11 in the nation in 2010 among U.S. cities for its number of last-minute tax filers, or taxpayers who mailed their returns between April 14 and April 17, according to Intuit, which makes TurboTax filing software.

Intuit doesn't disclose its market-specific numbers, but the Internal Revenue Service estimates that 90,200 Nevadans, or about 25 percent of the return-submitting population, will ask for filing extensions in 2011, up from roughly 86,000 extension requests in 2010 and 2009.

If you're one of the Silver State's tax procrastinators, here are some last-minute deduction ideas, as well as some tips to help you get your return off in the nick of time:

■ Pad retirement and savings accounts. It's not too late to claim deductions for boosting your nest egg. You have until Monday to contribute to your individual retirement account or your health savings account and write off the amount on your 2010 return. For your IRA, you can deposit as much as $5,000, or $6,000 if you're 50 or older. Maximum deposits into your high-deductible insurance plan's health savings account can equal $3,050 for singles and $6,150 for families. You have to make your contributions to each account by Monday even if you get a tax extension.

■ Sweat the small stuff. If you're itemizing, don't forget the details. On top of your mortgage-interest deduction, you can deduct your real estate taxes, part of your car registration and the Nevada sales taxes you paid in the year. You can claim a standard sales-tax deduction using IRS tables in your tax book. You can even write off job-search costs, including Internet access, résumé-writing services, stationery and travel expenses related to job searches outside the market. If you bought a hybrid car in 2010, you could be eligible for a tax credit as well.

And don't forget to take the Making Work Pay credit if you earned income as an employee or were self-employed in 2010. The credit is good for $400 for singles and $800 for joint filers, but it's not open to Social Security recipients, private pensioners or others who didn't earn income on the job in the year. To claim the credit, you'll have to file IRS Schedule M with your tax return.

■ Find help. The IRS will offer extended office hours through filing day, and walk-ins needing help with their returns are welcome. If you have a complex accounting issue or a special need, such as a disability, you may need an appointment, but otherwise, just stop by with your paperwork for some face-to-face help. You can pay what you owe, request assistance with specific forms, get tax-law help, obtain taxpayer identification numbers and even get free return preparation if you qualify for the earned income tax credit or make less than $49,000 a year.

The agency's Las Vegas office will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday.

The office is at 110 City Parkway and can be reached at 868-5005.

If you made less than $58,000 in adjusted gross income in 2010, you're eligible for Free File, an IRS initiative that connects taxpayers with tax-software companies for gratis return-filing online. To find providers and begin your return, visit freefile.irs.gov.

AARP Nevada also provides free tax help for low- and moderate-income households at more than 40 sites throughout the state, helping roughly 30,000 Nevadans a year. To find an AARP Tax-Aide site, visit www.aarp.org/applications/VMISLocator/taxAideLocationPage.action, or call 866-389-5652.

■ Keep your eye on the postmarks -- and the postage. The U.S. Post Office will stay open late on Monday at several locations around the Las Vegas Valley. To land that April 18 postmark, taxpayers can deposit their returns in mailboxes at the James C. Brown Jr. branch at 1001 E. Sunset Road through midnight, and the location's retail windows will be open until midnight to accommodate procrastinators.

Late collections will happen at 10 p.m. for mail deposited in collection boxes outside the Red Rock Vista station, at 2449 N. Tenaya Way; the Spring Valley branch, at 3375 S. Rainbow Blvd.; the Winterwood outpost, at 5070 Vegas Valley Drive; the Meadow Mesa branch, at 4904 Camino Al Norte; and the Henderson location, at 404 S. Boulder Highway.

You can even file on the resort corridor: For the ninth straight year, the clerks with the postal service's Post Office on Wheels will be at Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef to weigh your return and sell stamps for mailing. Tax filers mailing returns from the Shark Reef will land a voucher for free admission to the attraction.

Oh, and about those stamps: The cost of mailing first-class postage will increase on Sunday. It'll still cost 44 cents for the first ounce, but additional ounces will cost 20 cents more. About four pages will equal an ounce. If you're unsure how much your return will weigh, it's better to err on the side of caution and stick an extra stamp on the envelope.

■ Get an extension. If you begin working in earnest on your return this weekend and find you're just not going to get it done, you can dodge big late-filing fines by filing IRS Form 4868 to ask for a filing extension. An extension is automatic once you ask for it, and it's good until Oct. 18. It doesn't absolve you of paying your taxes by Monday, though, and not sending in a payment could result in penalties and interest. Try to estimate how much you'll owe and send in a payment to get started and spare yourself from writing bigger checks later.

■ Consider the future. Monday isn't just the deadline for filing 2010 returns. It's also the due date for estimated taxes on 1099, or self-employed, income that you earned in the first quarter of 2011. Such earnings don't have taxes withdrawn from them, so you'll need to file Form 1040-ES and send in a payment. It doesn't have to be exact; you can reconcile accounting differences on your year-end return next spring. But avoiding paying something now could mean penalties later.

Review-Journal writer Jennifer Robison contributed to this report.