Just a few years ago, post offices stayed open late on April 15 to accommodate the rush of last-minute federal tax filers, but that ended two years ago.
Nine out of 10 taxpayers now file electronically, according to the Internal Revenue Service, so the U.S. Postal Service sees no reason for extended hours. Only the main post office at 900 E. Fayette St. in Baltimore will be open until 7 p.m. — its normal closing time — for filers needing that April 15 postmark.
"With so many taxpayers filing electronically, the need for multiple locations to extend operational hours is just not there," USPS spokeswoman Freda Sauter said.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same. The IRS estimates that about 35 million taxpayers — roughly one in five — waited until the final week to file their taxes. Some wait because they owe money, others simply procrastinate. Some later filers tried to file earlier but received amended tax documents later.
Edward Dave, who got his taxes done at the H&R Block on North Paca Street on Tuesday, was one of the procrastinators. He said he didn't let the pressure get to him.
"I know I have time," said Dave, a 57-year-old mail handler from Harford County. "I usually have my paperwork ready weeks in advance. I'm not in a rush or a hurry, my finances are pretty much in order."
Dave said he knew some people who waited until the last minute, and some "that get it done the very first day." For him, he said, "there's too many other things to take care of or worry about."
As of April 3, the IRS said it had received more than 99 million returns and issued 77 million refunds averaging over $2,800.
Putting off filing tax forms and paying taxes can be a risky proposition.
"I get visions of Clint Eastwood in my mind," said Jay Denburg, a certified public accountant at Baltimore-based accounting firm Denburg and Low. "With all this liability and exposure, and the penalties and the IRS, and you have to sign under penalty of perjury, you've got to be a real cool guy or person to procrastinate."
Local CPAs say the last week continues to be their crunch time as they try to get returns in under the wire. They say they've seen a rise in investment brokerages and others issuing incorrect tax forms that need to be corrected, and a flurry of last-minute changes to the tax code from Congress and the IRS.
Anna Vitale Lybrook, a certified public accountant for Stoy, Malone and Co. in Towson, said she's been preparing taxes for about 30 years, and this year has been "the worst." She said she had to come into the office on Sunday for the first time and work a full day.
"Tax season has become shorter," she said. "It used to be everything was due January 31st and on February 1st we'd kick into gear."
Now, she said, broker statements come out later, and are often followed by a corrected form.
"It's the same amount of work in a shorter period, so it's really tough to get things done on time," she said.
Lybrook said her team's goal was to get 50 returns out of the door every day in the final week, and that they had processed about 300 by Monday. Despite the frantic pace, Lybrook said she expected the employees to be done around 5 p.m. on April 15.
"Basically, we get through it by being a team," she said.
Some individual tax preparers saw a slow stream of customers on Monday and Tuesday. Tiona Davis, a certified public accountant at the Liberty Tax Service on North Charles Street, said her office handled eight new tax returns Tuesday. But Wednesday, she said she's expecting about 50.
The last day of tax season "is like the first day all over again," said Davis, comparing the rush of people eager to get their refunds early, and the later filers who often owe money.
"We normally get the late filers who know that they owe, it's no rush for them," Davis said. "But then they file because they know they have to."
Sade Dent, who visited the Liberty Tax Service on North Charles Street on Tuesday, said she filed her taxes in February and got another W-2 form in the mail about a week later, so had to file an amended return.
Waiting until late in the season made her "just anxious," she said. "I love to have my stuff in order. That's my thing."
Denburg said his firm will process around 450 tax returns this season, most of them complex, from taxpayers with income from S corporations, partnerships or other complicated matters. He said his firm sent letters to regular customers this year telling them they had a deadline of March 16 to turn in their tax forms and get the process going.
Years ago, Denburg said, he would drop off tax returns late at night at the post office and watch people filling out their tax returns on the walls before mailing them. There was a sense of "desperation" in the air, he said.
"There are all different types of people, and some you have to scratch your head and go 'wow,'" he said.
Though taxpayers can file for an extension, they still must do so by April 15. Otherwise, they're subject to penalties and interest.
"You will not escape the tax authorities," Denburg said. "Unless you pass away, in which case, you got them."