Rushing to file your taxes? Don’t rely on AI for help, plus other last-minute tips

(CNN) — If you’re riding the caboose when it comes to filing your income taxes, you have one more week to make the April 15 deadline – or at least request an automatic six-month filing extension and pay whatever else you owe for 2025.

Here are some last-minute dos and don’ts to make sure you avoid hitting any snags along the way.

General-use AI is not your tax friend

The IRS and tax pros use AI. Tax prep software providers use AI. So, you wonder, “Why not me?”

Several reasons, according to former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.

Werfel, who oversaw the IRS’ early use of AI to improve taxpayer service and compliance, appreciates the tool’s promise in the tax arena.

But he’s raising red flags for DIY taxpayers who plan to lean on – or have already relied on – free, general-use AI platforms to field personal tax questions and help prepare their returns.

“Beware the generic solutions,” said Werfel, who is now a strategic advisory board member at management consulting firm Alliant.

For starters, unlike AI programs designed for tax purposes, general-use platforms (e.g., Chat GPT, Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot) have not been engineered, trained and tested for tax compliance and accuracy, especially for the more detailed, specific questions you may have due to the new tax law from last July that created a slew of new tax breaks for individuals. Even tax pros are taking it slow as they try to apply the complex rules governing who is eligible to claim them and how much of their income is now deductible.

The quality of the information you get from a general-use platform also depends on the quality of your prompts. If you don’t have any informed sense of what you’re asking about (and no one can blame you if you don’t), you’re less likely to put in useful prompts, which could result in confusing, incomplete or incorrect information. As enrolled agent Tom O’Saben put it in a press call, “I use AI tools every day. But I have an idea of where we want to go.”

The personal financial details you input are also less secure. “You’re handing over your most sensitive information to a platform where you have very limited understanding or assurances … in term of how your data will be used,” Werfel said.

And, he added, AI-assisted returns may be automatically flagged by the returns processing system at the federal or state level, which may take your return out of the fast-track lane and set it aside for human review. That can mean a real lag in getting your refund or just getting closure on issues your return raises for the tax agencies.

“If you think, ‘I’m just going to use Chat GPT,’ you’re taking a big risk that you’re going to be moved into the slow lane,” Werfel said.

Have last-minute questions or need help filing for free?

You might get the information you need by using the IRS’ Interactive Tax Assistant.

Or if you’re a low-income filer who is at least 60 years old, you can get free tax and filing assistance at a VITA site (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly) or by calling 800-906-9887. AARP also offers free tax assistance.

Members of the military may get free help with filing and tax questions through MilTax.

Avoid gratuitous penalties and interest

If you think you still owe money to the IRS for 2025 but you don’t think you’ll be able to file by April 15, here is how to avoid (or at least minimize) getting hit with penalties and interest.

First, submit Form 4868 to get an automatic extension to file your return, penalty free, until October 15.

Then, by April 15, send the IRS payment of what you owe, or as much of it as you can.

If you don’t file for an extension and have a balance due: You’re likely to get hit with a late-filing penalty equal to 5% of your outstanding balance for each month or part of a month your return is late, up to a maximum of 25%. “If your return is more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty is $525 (adjusted for inflation) or the balance of the tax due on your return, whichever is smaller,” per the IRS.

You also may be subject to a late-payment penalty, which is typically half of 1% of the tax you still owe that hasn’t been paid by April 15, up to a maximum of 25%. (For more on penalties and interest – including circumstances in which you might be spared – read the instructions on page 2 of Form 4868.)

On top of that, you will owe interest on your balance due until it’s paid, plus interest on any penalties you’re hit with but haven’t paid.

If you file for an extension but don’t pay what you owe by April 15: You will escape the late-filing penalty, but you will still owe interest on your outstanding balance and may be subject to the late-payment penalty plus interest on that too.

Double check your work

Boring but essential: Before filing, check your math and proofread your return – especially your Social Security number or taxpayer ID number. Also make sure you have included on your return information from any third-party provided tax form you received that the IRS also was sent a copy of (such as a 1099 form or a W-2, etc.).

Any inadvertent mistakes, typos or omissions will slow down the processing of your return and delivery of your refund.

Speed your refund

If you expect a refund and want to get it within the typical 21-day window after you file, provide the IRS with your direct deposit information on your tax return for the account of your choice (e.g., bank account, retirement account, prepaid debit card or mobile payment app).

You may even split your refund across up to three accounts by filling out Form 8888.

If you don’t provide deposit information, you’ll get a letter from the IRS asking for it within 30 days of processing your return, per the National Association of Tax Professionals.

If you’d prefer a paper check, NATP said, “(t)he letter will also include information on exceptions and provide a dedicated phone line for requesting an exception and issuance of a paper check. After six weeks, the IRS will issue a paper check to prevent interest from accruing on the refund.”

Plan to mail things in? Take note.

Speaking of paper, it would be most efficient if you file your return and make payments electronically.

If, however, you plan to mail in one or both, be aware there has been a change in when the US Postal Service postmarks mail. To ensure your materials are both postmarked and considered mailed on the same date (no later than April 15), “take the mailpiece to a Postal Service retail location and request a manual (local) postmark at the retail counter …. The manual postmark will be applied free of charge,” per USPS.

If you want a record or proof of the date when the post office first took possession of your package, opt for a certificate of mailing, registered mail or certified mail.

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