Only A Few Days Left to File

WASHINGTON - If you haven't filed your 1989 federal income tax return yet, you have only a few days left before this year's due date of April 16. And you're not alone.

The Internal Revenue Service said it expects almost 34 million returns to be filed during the final week and a half of the filing season, with close to 23 million returns expected to come in to the IRS processing centers during the week of April 16. The IRS expects about 111 million returns overall this year.

Today the IRS offered some advice on how to avoid the common mistake taxpayers often make in a last-minute rush to file.

• Make sure your return is complete. Attach all your W-2 forms to the front of your return and include all supplemental forms and schedules you need for a complete return.
• Don't overlook items you can claim. For example, many people who are eligible neglect to claim the earned income credit, which is available for some people who have a child and have income under $19,340. Even if taxpayers may not be required to file a return, they should check to see if they are entitled to the earned income credit. If so, they should file a return in order to claim it.
• Be sure to sign and date your return. Your spouse needs to sign too if it's a joint return.
• Check your math. To make your calculations easier, round off cents to the nearest whole dollar: for example: $1.39 becomes $1; $2.50 becomes $3.
• Check and recheck the tax table to be sure to get the correct tax from the tax table for your filing status and taxable income. Misreading the tax table is a common error taxpayers make every year.
• If you owe tax, be sure to write your social security number, daytime phone number and "1989 Form 1040: (or 1040A or 1040EZ) on your check or money order.

As of April 6 the IRS received 66.3 million returns and processed almost 57 million of them. Refunds continue to be up - - 45.3 million certified as of April 5, compared to 42 million for the same period last year. The average refund is $851, compared to $824 last year.

The IRS said that extended toll-free telephone assistance will be available on a limited basis the last few days of the filing season. Telephone assistance will be available Saturday April 14 during the late morning and early afternoon and Monday April 16 for extended evening hours. The toll-free phone numbers are listed in the tax forms packages.

                    1990 Filing Season Statistics

         Individual income tax returns received and processed
         For the week ending April 7, 1989, and April 6, 1990


              1989           1990       % Change

Receipts      6,563,000      6,138,000    6.5
Processed     5,227,000      5,190,000    0.7


Cumulative from January 1:

              1989           1990       % Change
Receipts     64,681,000     66,331,000    2.6
Processed    53,277,000     56,985,000    7.0


Electronically filed individual income tax returns

For the week ending April 5, 1990:      121,499
Cumulative for 1990 since Jan. 1:     3,905,426
Cumulative for 1989 for same period:  1,064,152
1990 increase over 1989:            267 percent


Refund comparison

Refunds certified by Martinsburg Computing Center through
April 6, 1989, and April 5, 1990:

                         1989           1990       % Change
Number               42,112,000      45,317,000       7.6
Amount of principal $34,720 million $38,584 million  11.1
Average refund             $824        $851           3.3

Taxpayer Service filing season statistics

                    1/1/89 - 4/8/89    1/1/90 - 4/7/90
Toll-free phone
   calls answered     15,808,148          14,199,293
Tele-Tax calls
   (technical)         2,156,999           3,070,313
Refund Info           16,333.555          11,355,434

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