The 5 Stages of Waiting Till the Last Minute To File Your Taxes
Written by
Laura Bogart
Edited by
Kristen Mae
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
There’s nothing like tax season to bring out your inner ostrich. You figure the sand is warm — why not stick your head in it? Meanwhile, the tax man is tapping his foot, waiting for you to get your act together.
Well, no harm in asking him to wait a little longer, right? Of course not. And the best part is, you can’t hear him shouting at you not to file your taxes at the very last minute.
Who cares if last-minute filing means rushed calculations, missing deductions, and potential fines? Not you. You’re handling this the way you handled those college papers — by pulling an all-nighter the night before they’re due. (How’d that work out, by the way?)
You may not be aware of it, but tax procrastination has distinct stages. Let’s see where you land.
Denial
Okay, April 15th is, like, weeks away. So many weeks. You have so much time. It’s actually kind of wild how much time you have. You could totally go on, oh, you don’t know, a hot-air balloon ride around the world and still have time to file.
Besides, the IRS isn’t the FBI. They’re probably not that intense about rules and deadlines. Honestly, what are the odds they’ll even care about lil’ ol’ you filing barely on time or even a bit late? Pretty low, probably.
Anger
Once you actually sit down to do your taxes, you’re probably thinking thoughts that can’t be printed in a family-friendly publication. Here’s the G-rated version:
WHY IS THIS SO HARD?
All these numbers and terms are just static in your head, like the adults in “Peanuts.” Why can’t they just explain things like normal people?
Oh, and speaking of normal people — why do you have to pay so much and play by all the rules while billionaires like Bezos, Zuckerberg, and Musk seem to skate by without paying their fair share. Do they even know what a W-2 form looks like?
Ooooh, once you’re done with this nonsense, you’re calling your congressperson.
Bargaining
11:59 p.m. totally counts as “on time,” right? Right? Someone? Anyone?
Maybe it’s a gray area, but surely not IRS-kicking-down-my-door bad. Worst case scenario, you go to jail. But your friend makes awesome cupcakes — he could probably sneak a file in them.
Better yet, send those cupcakes to the IRS with a heartfelt apology letter. They’d definitely be moved by that. Or maybe you could send them a video, “Legally Blonde” style, only instead of getting into Harvard, you’re sobbing over your 1099s. They’d probably tell you just to forget about taxes this year and try again next year.
Depression
Why is this haaaaaaaaaaaappening to you? You can’t pay this all at once. Even a payment plan sounds painful.
This sucks. Everything sucks.
You should run away to the woods and learn to hunt like Katniss Everdeen. She was broke, and everything turned out fine for her, sort of.
Oh, who are you kidding? You’ll never make it in the woods. You’re doomed. So doomed.
You could Google what happens if you don’t pay taxes, but that would just make everything worse. And everything is already bad.
Acceptance
Okay, okay, OKAY — you’re doing it. You’re filing.
Turns out, you can write off your office chair as a work expense. Neat.
And yeah, it’s not easy, but there are online tutorials, and your friend’s cousin’s girlfriend is an accountant. She said you can text her. She didn’t say how often, though.
Oh, hey, what do you know? You’re finished. Wait — did you just get a refund?
You totally did.
The day is saved. Now you have money for therapy to help you recover from tax season. Or for a bow and arrow just in case the economy really tanks.
More From GOBankingRates
