Time to Get Back to Work Filing Your Taxes

Paying your Federal Income Taxes can be frustrating, even when you're able to pick up your tax forms early in the year.

This year, a delay from the Internal Revenue Service made some residents of Port Washington and Saukville wait even longer just to get their hands on the forms. 

But tax time is finally in full swing now that the forms have arrived at local libraries.

"We just received the Federal 1040 and 1040A tax forms," said David Nimmer, director of the W.J. Niederkorn Library in Port Washington. "They also sent the instructions, and all of these items are available in the hallway by the upstairs entrance."

The delay, according to Nimmer, was an extension of the George W. Bush tax cut that required the altering of the 2010 tax codes. 

"We learned a while back that the Feds weren’t going to mail them out and we knew we’d have a demand for the materials," Nimmer explained. "Some people have been a bit perturbed but for the most part they’ve understood it’s not our fault."

He said he’d posted signs telling patrons why they didn’t have the forms.

"We took our share of calls," Nimmer said. "We’re stocked up pretty heavily now and should have plenty for everyone who needs the forms."

Nimmer said one of the most important messages he wants to impart to the community is the fact the government does not send the forms directly to homes; people will have to pick forms up somewhere or file online.

Libraries have been a primary distributor of tax forms for more than a decade.

"The post office used to have them," Nimmer said. "That proved to be a hassle for them and about five years ago they stopped."

Nimmer said a lot of people don’t want to go to a tax preparer so they still come in and pick up the forms.

Brent Bohne of H&R Block, 825 E. Green Bay Ave., Saukville, said he was unaware of the shortage of 1040A forms.

"We don’t use booklets or paper anymore," Bohne said. "My guess is this has affected only a small segment of the population — but it’s good to know (the forms are) out there if people need them."

Jen Gerber is the director at the Oscar Grady Library in Saukville and said they’ve not experienced much fallout from the delay.

"A good portion of the people who had been asking got theirs now," Gerber said. "It’s been smooth for us. People have told us they appreciated our efforts to get them into our library. We have links people can use on our computers to submit their taxes as well."

Christopher Miller is a spokesperson for the Internal Revenue Service and concurred with Nimmer’s assessment in regards to the delay.

"There was a delay in printing some tax forms due to the tax changes," Miller said. "We’ve been distributing as soon as they’ve become available."

The vast majority of people are filing online.

"Last year 70 percent of greater Wisconsin E-Filed," he said. "To that end, most are aware of the process."

Miller said people can actually file their taxes for free on the IRS website at www.irs.gov.