Rushing To Get Income Tax Forms Filed

Unless you filed for an extension, today was the final day to file or pay your taxes.

At area post offices, many people opted to wait in line to mail their tax forms and payments instead of taking the chance of dropping them into mailboxes.

Kristen Valperga said the wait at the San Ramon Post Office on Alcosta Boulevard was only about two minutes.

“It was really easy and I was so surprised the line was so short,” she said. “I was expecting the line to be out the door.”

Although her tax paperwork had been prepared by an attorney and was ready to be mailed Friday, she said it was nice to have a few extra days to send her forms. She is expecting a return but plans to save it as an emergency fund instead of spending it right away.

The post office in Pleasanton on Chabot Drive had a slightly longer wait during lunch hour.

“There was a wait, but it was like 10 minutes,” Brian Lingl said after he dropped off his tax forms. “It was really fast. I was really surprised.”

Lingl said having extra time to prepare his taxes was helpful this year.

“I needed an extra three days to look at all my paperwork and get it done,” he said. “That stuff was all over the place, so I had to track it down.”

Lingl prepared his taxes using TurboTax. He is expecting a return and plans to use it to pay bills.

Mike Lucchesi said he had a tax preparer do his taxes and that he was just at the post office to mail his tax payment.

“Having an extra three days doesn’t matter,” he said. “How about if everyone already prepaid their taxes instead of playing these games, deduct this, deduct that. Come on.”

Lucchessi said he thinks most people are better off having a professional prepare their taxes for them because so much goes into the process.

The line at the post office in Dublin on Village Parkway almost went out the door.

Elizabeth Proietti opted to drop her tax forms and payment in the mailbox at the Dublin Post Office. Although her paperwork was ready before Monday, she said it was nice to wait until April 18 because she was able to keep the money in her bank account a little longer.

Proietti also had a tax preparer do her taxes.                                             

“I wish they’d make the whole thing simpler so I could do them myself,” she said.

The tax deadline was extended until today because April 15 was a holiday in Washington, D.C.

With more taxpayers filing online, only a handful of Bay Area post offices are staying open later Monday to accommodate procrastinators, but none are in the East Bay.

If you want to wait until the very last minute, you'll have to drive to San Francisco: The post office near San Francisco International Airport, 660 West Field Road, will allow curbside dropoffs until midnight. The post offices at 1300 Evans Ave. in San Francisco will offer curbside service until 10 p.m.

The hours of operation for individual post offices can be found by visiting www.usps.com or calling 800-275-8777.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.