The deadline for filing federal tax returns is now less than a week away. Keith Hall is a tax advisor with the National Association for the Self-Employed. He says when people wait until the last minute to file, it's easy to forget important deductions amidst all the rush.
Hall says today's tax software makes it simple for most people to file their own returns, but it may still be worthwhile to seek out the advice of a tax professional to take advantage of all possible deductions. The tax filing deadline has been pushed back to April 17th this year, because the 15th falls on a Sunday, and Monday the 16th is Emancipation Day...that's a legal holiday in Washington, DC. It celebrates President Lincoln's signing of an act that released the slaves held in the District of Columbia, some nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.