Even though time is running out to file federal income tax returns, anyone who hasn't done so already should take the time to do the return properly, a local Internal Revenue Service official advises.

"There's still enough time to get the help you need and to get it done right," said William M. Cressman Jr. of the Philadelphia office of the IRS.

"If you're thinking of preparing your return on your own, I would recommend e-filing. By filing electronically, you're sure to have all the forms you need and a tax expert right in your own home," he said, referring to the expertise built into the software.

Cressman said the IRS Web site, www.irs.gov, gives taxpayers a list of 20 companies that offer approved e-filing software.

Taxpayers who are doing their returns themselves can get help from IRS-trained volunteers throughout the Philadelphia region, he said. Locations are available from the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.

IRS help is available free to individuals who earn less than $33,000 a year, those who are elderly - though the IRS does not specify how it defines that - or those for whom English is a second language.

Tenora Rogers, a sales clerk from South Philadelphia, said on Tuesday she was seeking assistance only now because "I didn't get my W-2 form early enough." She received help at the IRS facility at Sixth and Arch Streets.

"It's easier the last week," she said. "I find it easier coming here than going to any of the [commercial] tax-processing centers. Besides, it's free."

As for taxpayers who will have trouble meeting Monday night's filing deadline, Cressman said: "I'd recommend that people who know that they're not going to get their return completed on time file a request for a four-month extension."

However, if they owe the federal government money, they must pay at least 90 percent of the taxes due with the extension request. Otherwise, they will incur a penalty of 0.5 percent per month on any shortfall.

Taxpayers who file their returns on time but cannot pay what is due should fill out Form 9465 or attach a letter to the front of the return asking for an installment-payment agreement, Cressman said. There is an interest charge of 6 percent, plus a penalty of 0.25 percent per month.

The penalty for filing late when money is owed is stiff: 5 percent per month up to a maximum of 25 percent of the tax owed.

Cressman also said that although postal workers would be at Philadelphia's main post office at 30th Street collecting last-minute returns until midnight Monday, IRS representatives will not be there to offer filing assistance as they have in the past.

But taxpayers can call 1-800-829-1040 for general tax help. The hours are today, tomorrow and Monday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.

Seeking help at the IRS office at Sixth and Arch Streets on Tuesday were Shannon and Hanesha Bussey, who were there with their daughter Miyahna, 20 months.

They said they filled out their tax return in February. But when they called to check up on the direct-deposit refund they were expecting in their bank account, they were told that their return had not been processed properly. Shannon is an environmental service worker, and both he and his wife are also students at Community College of Philadelphia.

On Tuesday, they went back to the IRS, and they were told that their case had been straightened out and that the check should be deposited in their account by April 19. "We're very satisfied," Shannon Bussey said of the help they received.

---

Contact Thomas J. Brady at 215-854-2525 or tbrady@phillynews.com.