Tax procrastinators scramble ahead of deadline

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- The only thing as certain as death and taxes for some of us is procrastination.

As two of those certainties clash head-on today, April 15, tax deadline day, those who prefer putting off till tomorrow what could be done today are arriving at post offices around the nation to finally confront the reality of taxes.

"I'm an accountant and don't want to advertise it," said a final day filer at the Farley Post Office, Manhattan's central postal facility, who refused to divulge his name.

Two lines of several dozen people waiting to mail returns snaked through the cavernous post office this morning, as another line extended from a postal truck parked outside.

April 15 is a celebration of sorts for those who like to wait until deadline time.

"It's a ritual with me," laughed retiree Lawrence Sanders, who fills out his tax forms at the post office in mid-town Manhattan each year. "It's like New Year's Eve for me. Everybody else goes to Times Square. I go to the General Post Office."

"I'll wait till the last minute. Maybe I'll hear a tax tip on television that might help me," cracked Sanders.

"I'm a procrastinator. I always wait till the very last moment," confessed accountant Charles Lewis.

"No excuse. I'll be honest. No excuse whatsoever. I've been doing this since I've been doing taxes," said Lewis, explaining why he had yet to file his own return.

The Internal Revenue Service, which carefully monitors our earnings, says it does not track postmarks, and therefore does not know exactly how many Americans file tax returns on April 15. Its best estimate is that about one of every four Americans files during the two weeks leading to the deadline. Last year more than 36 million taxpayers filed in April.

It seems there are as many excuses for waiting until the last filing day as there are taxpayers.

"I don't have the time. I'm busy always," said Joseph Anabe, a salesman.

"It's not fun to do. There's always something else to do," explained Meg Gage, a foundation director.

All those excuses grow from serious anxiety, argues psychologist Barry Lubetkin of the Institute for Behavior Therapy. "Taxes cause them to feel fear," said Lubetkin.

Confronting taxes makes people "worried about their financial security, and while they may be effective in other areas of their lives, when it comes to paying taxes they're paralyzed," he said.

There's an extra incentive to overcome tax filing fear this year. Americans must file a return in order to receive a tax stimulus check of up to $600 per individual ($1200 for a married couple). The IRS plans to begin mailing those checks on May 2, beginning with payments to those who filed their tax returns electronically. The stimulus checks will not be subject to income tax.

But even with that incentive the government recognizes the prevalence of tax procrastination, so, as always, the IRS will grant a six-month extension, pushing the filing deadline back to October 15.

To gain the extra time, though, you must file an application for an extension, form 4868. For details on how to file for an extension electronically go to www.irs.gov.

"It's an automatic extension to file a return," said Nancy Mathis, an IRS spokesperson. "But it's not an extension to pay. If you think you owe you need to at least pay what you paid last year, otherwise you'll be penalized."

Procrastinators who make the request have plenty of company, as the IRS expects to grant more than 10 million extensions.