Tax Day is here! What central coast residents need to know about filing their taxes

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) May 17th is the deadline for filing individual tax returns. Tax Day was delayed one month because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since May 15th was on a Saturday, the deadline was pushed two days later to Monday.

It is still possible to file an extension for your paperwork, but money you owe is still due Monday.

 If you didn't get around to it yet, Carlos Lopez, CEO and Founder of Lopez Tax Service, says you should start now.

“File those taxes because there's money out there for you," said Lopez

Lopez says their business has seen a arise in the number of people filing their taxes, people who want their COVID-19 stimulus payments.

"We've noticed a huge uptick, people coming out of the woodwork, I want my stimulus, I want to file my taxes, I know I'm missing out on money," said Lopez.

The tax deadline was pushed back a month in response to the pandemic and pandemic relief measures are also increasing the amount of money you could receive from the government. This includes a change for people who qualify for the Child Tax Credit. Instead of $2,000, families with children under the age of six will receive $3,600 in 2021 and $3,000 for children ages 6-18. The American Rescue Plan also means much of this money is coming soon.

"What the IRS and the government is going to do is pay half that to the taxpayers starting in July as an advance to the child tax credit.

If filing by midnight just isn't going to happen, you can ask for a tax extension for your paperwork that pushes the deadline until October 15th but for those who have a balance due to the IRS, that penalties still apply.

The penalty for late filing is five percent per month of the tax you owed for five months so it maxes out at 25% then there is an interest charge on it which is 18% until you can pay it off.

If you owe the IRS, Lopez advices paying those dues off as soon as you can.