Friday, April 3, 1998 | 10:21 a.m.
Valeria Soares never waits this late to do her taxes.
The 23-year-old native Las Vegan has, since age 16, filed her Form 1040 by mid-February.
This year, however, a fun-filled trip to Brazil has resulted in Soares finding herself much closer to the April 15 tax deadline than she ever wanted to be.
"I was talking to my mom yesterday and she said, you know you only have 15 days left to file," Soares, a medical claims adjuster who also operated a cleaning business for a couple of months in 1997, said Thursday.
Soares and scores of others were at the Internal Revenue Service at Oakey and Decatur boulevards searching for the necessary forms to complete their returns.
Upon entering the office, Soares cheerful outlook turned to one of some concern. She saw an IRS information desk clerk busy with two other folks and a long line at the counter. A dozen more people were searching through an array of forms on shelves.
"I only have my lunch hour to find the form I need," she said. "I don't know the name of it -- it's the one where you figure out how much extra Social Security you have to pay (on income from a private business)."
Soares was handed a Schedule SE (self-employment tax) form and a Schedule C (profit and loss from a business) form.
"Yes, I need that form, too, because I did save all of my receipts," Soares said, noting that in the past seven years, she received refunds six times and is expecting one again this year.
"One year, I owed money -- it was $5 and I got so upset," she said. "I suppose if I owed money every year, I'd always wait until the last minute to file."
Lillian Siegel, 70, admits she has a history of filing late.
"I usually don't get my papers together right away," the native of Spain who moved to Las Vegas from New York eight months ago said. "The earliest I have ever filed was in late March."
Siegel, who has lived in New York the past 59 years, also had trouble finding the form she needed at the local IRS office on Thursday.
"The lady (IRS clerk) did not understand when I asked her for the form for when you need more time -- I did not know the number," Siegel said.
She needed Form 4868, the extension request.
Bob Norris, spokesman for the IRS Southwest Region in Phoenix, said filing that form only gives a taxpayer a four-month extension to file the return. However, he said, the amount that is owed the government must be paid by the deadline or interest and penalty charges are levied.
Still, filing for an extension or a request for installment payments (Form 9465) beats the alternative.
"The advice is don't not file," Norris said. "File on time, send in as much as you can afford and put Form 9465 on the front of the return. The IRS will let you know in 30 days if it (the payment plan) is accepted."
The interest fees on the plan are similar to that of a credit card. Also, a $43 fee for setting up the payment plan is required in addition to the first installment.
Soares and Siegel, who generally do their own taxes, said that service won't be necessary for them. But they admit they probably will have to go to a private preparer for help this year.
Las Vegas tax preparer Andrew Thomas Panico, a former stockbroker, says his two peak times are in February when there is a flood of refunds and during the first two weeks of April from folks resigned to the fact that they will be sending the IRS checks.
"Many of them get frustrated trying to do the forms at home, they hear the clock ticking and finally they break down and go to a preparer," said Panico who sees a steady stream of clients at his 821 N. Lamb Blvd. office.
"It is a delicate situation because at this late point many of them are afraid the IRS is going to take their home, their car and their children."
Panico says that, in many cases, a good preparer can find enough legitimate deductions to at least reduce the debt to the tax man. Many people, he said, are unaware of the deductions to which they are entitled.
This Saturday and next, the IRS will assist low-income taxpayers, the elderly, non-English-speaking folks and those who qualify for earned-income credit refunds by helping them fill out and file their returns. The free service will be offered from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the IRS office.
Norris says the IRS offers other programs to ease the burden of last-minute filers. Among them is a toll-free tax information line (800) 829-1040. Also, taxpayers with computers and Internet service can access the IRS website at www.irs.ustreas.gov for more tips.
Also, on April 13-15, the local IRS office will be open until 7 p.m. -- normal hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. And on those days, a forms-only drive-through window will be set up until 7 p.m.
"Traditionally, people who owe wait until the last minute," Norris said. "The problem with waiting so late is that people tend to rush, creating the possibility of more errors. That's something we want to avoid."
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