Historically, April is tax time. (We will hold briefly for boos.) But there is a silver lining. Two, actually: Most people don’t need to pay for special software to file them. And if you’re fortunate enough to be a Californian, your state and federal taxes probably aren’t due until October.
You can thank the winter storm onslaught for the delayed deadline. The Internal Revenue Service and Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in March that for anyone who lives or works in the 51 counties affected by federal emergency and disaster declarations, the tax deadline is pushed back to Oct. 16. That list of affected counties includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and San Diego.
Though taxes aren’t uniquely American, the way we handle them is. In most other countries, the government calculates how much you owe, and tells you. Filing your taxes is simple and free.
