ISTM that’s the best argument for “they don’t bother checking postmarks” of all.
Not true. We did the math, I could take what I owe, put it in a 6 month CD in March and make more than the fees by the time I need the money in October. I’ve actually done that a couple of times. Lately, it’s just not extra stress at a time where my actual business is enough stress - which is worth paying for as long as the fee is minimal.
I got it done on time, and owed much less than I expected. Win/Win!
Good point I hadn’t considered.
If their late interest rates are below market, which they often are, you can make a small arb on late paying.
As you say, the big help is avoiding an admin flail in 1Q if your biz is naturally berserk then.
I’ve often wondered whether tax accountants file their own taxes way late for just that reason. 
e-Filed the taxes but snail mailed the check.
It was filed by my accountant and I received notification it was accepted the same day it was filed. I just called their automated hotline and they said it should be deposited in my checking account by Wednesday, April 15th. I can hold on for two more days.
For everyone who is mailing their return, I’m curious why. Are you typing up the forms manually? Using software that doesn’t support eFile, or trying to avoid the eFile charge? Something else?
Is this for financial reasons? How much interest do you earn in those couple extra days versus the cost of the envelope, stamp, and check?
Before I was married and liked to live dangerously, I frequently put my tax returns in the mail on the 16th or 17th of April.
This was in the 1990s, and I never ever had any issue with my returns being processed normally. I don’t think anyone checks postmarks on returns received in April.
In my almost 30 years of marriage I have filed our joint returns well in advance, always before April 1. I married a Tax Accountant. She has never touched our tax returns except to sign in the early days when we submitted paper returns. To be fair she hasn’t been a PRACTICING Tax Accountant for over 25 years.
Just to tweak the machine.
I wouldn’t sneer too hard. Getting a refund means you overpaid during the year, which also means you gave the US government an interest free loan. Not the smartest use of your money.
I’m a dinosaur who still uses paper checks for a number of purposes, but not for paying taxes. It’s way easier to login to irs.gov and my state website and pay electronically, and I don’t have to drive to the post office or worry about the postmark date.
Actually more than half of the refund was due to rebates on insulation upgrades. While i did overpay a bit, it was less than $1000 for the year so even with a 10% expected return the opportunity cost was less than $50 for the year, Well worth it to me to not have to worry about a tax bill at the end of the year.
fair enough, and I was just giving you a hard time. I always overpay as well. Would rather do that than have to worry about safe harbors and penalty payments.
No worries, probably should have added a smiley face at the end of my response to indicate it was not viewed as a response to serious criticism 
i know some people like to maximize every dollar but definitely worth a few missed dollars to completely eliminate any financial concerns lol
Just got mine e-filed by the CPA. Getting a refund for the first time in a while thanks to retirement and my financial planner.
You are now safe from my sneers.
My federal tax refund was deposited in my checking account yesterday as promised by the IRS. It took almost a month for it to happen, but from what I’ve read there are lots of people eligible for refunds this year so that may be why it took longer than expected. If I had gotten my tax info to my CPA earlier then I would have gotten my refund quicker. Simple as that.
People are unnecessarily afraid of the IRS, now California Franchise Tax Board, those are the scary ones. A lot more aggressive and powerful.
People think you’ll go to jail if you file April 16. When the reality is they likely won’t care, or even notice for that matter, if it’s off a day or two late, or if you get a tiny 1099-INT interest form in the mail after the date.
Also there are potential penalties for both not filing and not paying, but the former is a lot higher than the latter. If you’re broke, it’s best to file your accurate return and not pay a single dollar than it is to do neither.
Same in the US, not a lot of people know that. It’s stupid not to of course, and you have a couple years to file. Note that this is only if it’s obvious you would be due a refund, for example if you’re self-employed and have $100,000 in gross income but net income is closer to $0, you need to file to report your expenses.
If the IRS pays you late due to their own mess-up (not because you filed late) they will charge themselves interest and pay you extra.
The best situation if you itemize is to owe a small amount to the state (if applicable) and whatever refund from federal offsets this. Because state refunds are a taxable payment if you claimed them on taxes (i.e. if Schedule A box 5a has numbers and the box next to it is not checked).
4:15 at the post office on the 15th. Abd yes you can get that day’s postmark if you go in and ask for it.
I was apparently in significant company; the tired looking clerk said she’d been postmarking taxes all day. The one person in line ahead of me (again, small town, lines are rare) was also mailing taxes.
Turned out that I owed the IRS 19 cents. Which I didn’t have to pay; because you don’t have to pay amounts under a dollar.
-– and I had other errands to do in town anyway.