Last-Minute Tax Tips

Haven’t filed your tax return yet? There’s still time and help available.

* Where to go for last-minute mailing: Internal Revenue Service employees will be at the following Los Angeles-area post offices today from about 6:30 p.m. to midnight to provide last-minute filers with tax forms and other help. These locations will also be open late to accommodate you if you need that important April 15 postmark.

* 5800 W. Century Blvd., Westchester

* 900 N. Alameda St., Downtown Los Angeles

* 7101 S. Central Ave., South-Central Los Angeles

* 15701 Sherman Way, Van Nuys

* 15421 Gale Ave., Industry

* 41 Wheeler Ave., Arcadia

* How to file for an extension: If you can’t make the deadline, file a Form 4868, which gives you another four months to procrastinate. You are supposed to pay any tax that you think you still owe when you send in the extension request, but if you can’t, don’t. Interest on the amount you owe will accrue at a 7% annual rate, and there’s a failure-to-pay penalty of half a percent a month, says Rob Giannangeli, an IRS spokesman. But starting this year, there is no longer a late-filing penalty--that’s the onerous 5%-a-month charge--for failing to send a check.