In the United States, April 15th is tax day. Tax returns must be postmarked or submitted electronically (or a request for extension filed) before midnight tonight.

A few pro-tips on that:

• Leave yourself some extra time if you are submitting electronically. In the past, I have had difficulties in having my return accepted online. Since I complete my return early, that’s not a problem since I have plenty of time to resubmit online or to mail the return. If it’s 11:45 p.m., you don’t have that option. Some post office branches are open late today or have special collections from mailboxes. Check to see what the options are near your home or office.
• Filing an extension gives you six months to file your return. It does not give you six months to pay. If you can’t pay what you owe, contact the IRS as soon as possible to set up a payment plan. Go directly to the IRS. You don’t need to work through another company.

Once your return is filed, you aren’t quite finished. You need to look carefully at this year’s return and, if possible compare it to last year’s. Here are the questions you should ask:

• Did your taxes go up or down? Looking at your refund won’t tell you this. You need to compare your taxable income and your tax owed.
• Is your refund too high or do you owe too much? If either situation is the case, you may need to adjust your withholding. You can file a revised form W-4 with your company’s human resources office.  Ideally, you want to owe or get back a small amount. That will make sure that you are getting the maximum amount of your money available to you through the year without getting a massive tax bill come April.
• If you itemize your deductions, do you have a system in place to keep track of them? How about business expenses and income if you are self-employed?
• If you got a refund, how do you plan to use it? If you have any debt, you can throw it at that. If your debt situation is under control, add it to one of the savings accounts we discussed on Friday. Only if you have no debt and your savings are in good shape, then you can use it for a treat!