SAN DIEGO – It is officially Tax Day, but San Diegans still have months to file.

The tax deadline for most Americans was set for Tuesday April 18th, but the IRS has granted an extension for Californians after a disaster was declared due to a string of powerful winter storms, and that includes San Diego County.

The cutoff date for many Californians has now been extended to Oct. 16th. A deadline set to offer some relief to San Diegans in both the incorporated and unincorporated sections of the county, after a slew of unprecedented winter storms slammed the state over the past several months.

It’s move for 51 out of the state’s 58 counties that experts suggest taking advantage of now.

“If you’ve been adversely affected by the disaster and you actually have a casualty loss know that there’s a nice fat tax deduction. If you have an actual economic loss, you can offset next year’s taxes with that loss or more importantly, in many cases, you can carry that loss backwards and recover prior year income taxes,” explained Mark Steber, Chief Financial Tax Information Officer with Jackson Hewitt Tax Services.

This also applies if there was no damage to your property or business, meaning San Diegans are set for the October deadline without applying to file on or before that date.

Despite this, Sam Brotman with Brotman Law in San Diego suggests residents still make a payment as soon as possible.

“You don’t want to get caught off guard, so if you think you’re going to owe taxes it’s better to make a payment now rather than trying to push that out till October,” Brotman said.

Another topic top of mind centers around credits or deductions.

San Diegans eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit could add thousands to their wallets if they’ve earned an income of less than $60,000 a year.

It’s a credit Brotman says few and far between actually take advantage of.

“There are a lot of tax credits that are out there. Anything for working families, children, there are still a lot of Covid and pandemic related tax credits that are out there that could lead to significant savings worth tens and thousands of dollars for clients.” 

While there are ways to save, there are also ways to avoid getting charged a pretty penny.

“It’s really important that you make sure that your taxes are accurate and that all your errors are free because that is the biggest thing that gets people audited,” Brotman added. “Everyone pays taxes, you don’t have to leave a tip.”