HispanicBusiness

If you waited until the last minute to mail your taxes, it is best not to wait any longer.

Only the main post office in Harrisburg will have extended retail window hours tonight, the deadline to file income taxes, and only until 8 p.m. All other regional post offices will keep their regular business hours.

"Every year now, more and more people are filing electronically or mailing their return earlier in the season," U.S. Postal Service spokesman Ray Daiutolo Sr. said. "The need for us to have extended hours is dwindling."

In fact, Pennsylvania keeps pace with the national average in terms of electronic filing, Internal Revenue Service spokesman David Stewart said. More than 80 percent of income tax returns are now filed electronically. Seven years ago, the number was less than 50 percent, he said.

Even with modernized filing, tax season still has two busy stages: early, for people getting a refund, and late, for "procrastinators and people who have a balance," he said.

For those who cannot file their taxes today, six-month extension forms, called Form 4868, are available for download at IRS.gov. If you owe taxes, you should still submit your estimated tax payment on time, Stewart said.

Just because fewer people mail their taxes at the last minute does not mean post offices will be empty today.

Daiutolo recommends going early.

"If your post office closes at 5 and you get there at 4, you may be stuck in a long line," he said.

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(c)2013 The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)

Distributed by MCT Information Services