The April 15 tax deadline is close. Why you should file on time.

It’s easy to understand why so many people procrastinate about doing their tax returns.

It’s a tedious process that involves pulling together a lot of documents and crunching a lot of numbers. Even if you’re having someone else prepare your return, it can be overwhelming because hopefully you plan to review your return before it’s filed.

Some folks wait because they aren’t sure how they will pay the tax bill that is due. And if you owe, why rush to pay, right?

However you feel about the tax-filing process it’s important to file on time. And here’s why.

— There’s a penalty for not filing on time. Even if you can’t pay what you owe you should still file your tax return by April 15.

“The failure-to-file penalty is usually 5 percent of the tax owed for each month, or part of a month that your return is late, up to a maximum of 25 percent,” the IRS points out.

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