Looking for a reason for put off until October 15 what you can do on April 15? Do you need some encouragement to join America's largest group of procrastinators? Then read on to discover five good reasons to join millions of other loyal American taxpayers who legally file their tax return late, without any late filing penalties and without being harassed by the IRS.



Reason 1: It's free. It won't cost you a dime to file Form 4868. Well, it's almost free. If you file Form 4868 by snail-mail, it will cost you a whopping 42 cents.

Reason 2: It's automatic. You don't have to have a good reason, a bad reason, or any reason at all. Just send in the form and that's all there is to it. No need to come up with some lame excuse like "My dog ate my W-2."

Reason 3: It's relaxing. Remember how you've spent April 14 or April 15 in previous years? It's way past your bedtime, coffee pot still brewing, an opened bottle of Tylenol on top of your calculator, papers strewn all over your desk, receipts everywhere. Is this anyway to prepare your tax return? Of course not. Do you really need another source of stress in your life? File the extension and now imagine what you'll be doing on April 15 while thousands of frantic taxpayers are stuck in traffic at their local post office; instead, you'll be working in your garden or reading a good book, because you've got all summer to finish your return.

Reason 4: It's easy. As tax forms go, this is one of the easiest tax forms to complete. You put in your name, address and social security number - and you are already halfway done! Only four more lines to go: an estimate of your 2008 tax liability, the total amount of 2008 tax payments (from W-2 or 1099 withholdings and/or quarterly estimated tax payments), any balance due, and the amount you are paying with the form. A tax form can't be any easier than that.

Reason 5: It's fast. You can use your tax preparation software program to e-file Form 4868. Talk about fast. You push the Enter button on your keyboard and the data gets transmitted to the IRS in a nanosecond. You'll then receive an electronic confirmation from the IRS after the form has been processed and accepted. If you use a tax professional to prepare your return, he/she should be able to e-file the form for you, and since no signature is required on this form, getting it done quickly can take as little as a 5-minute phone call.