Our opinion: IDOR may want to cut some late-filers a little slack

This editorial represents the consensus opinion of The Daily Herald Editorial Board.

Filing your Illinois taxes online is generally a good way to go. It's pretty easy, it's quick, and - if you use the Department of Revenue's "MyTax Illinois" program - it's free.

But there's a little bug in the system right now that could cause filers new to MyTax Illinois to wind up filing late. And it behooves the Department of Revenue to make an effort to find a remedy.

Until this year, taxpayers could file form IL-1040 on MyTax Illinois without creating their own account. This year, registration is required and it's for a good reason: Maura Kownacki, IDOR spokeswoman, says the department recently discovered some fraudulently filed Illinois tax returns that were not the result of a breach within the department.

Having to create an account is a practical solution to the problem of a few fraudulent returns, without making the system unduly cumbersome for everybody else. It's not difficult to create an account. But to use the account, the applicant first must receive a "letter ID" from IDOR, and that can take up to 10 days.

Kownacki told our Mick Zawislak that people who have used MyTax Illinois in the past were alerted to the change via email, and a reminder was just sent. A message also is posted on the department's home page.

The potential problem isn't with most regular users then. It's with people who decide to file electronically for the first time this year. If they procrastinate - or hold onto their money until the last possible minute - they won't have eight to 10 days to wait for their ID to arrive before their return is late. In Illinois, payments less than 31 days late are penalized at 2% of the amount due; payments later than 31 days or more are penalized at 10%.

Last year, Illinois received about 5.3 million returns, or 87.5%, electronically, Kownacki said. Most are from tax preparers or taxpayers using off-the-shelf software. About 180,000 taxpayers use MyTax Illinois.

Is there a solution to keep unwitting taxpayers from being penalized?

Well, working on your taxes early is always a good idea. But we wonder if the IDOR couldn't do a little more to publicize the time lag, suggesting taxpayers get their taxes in early or reminding them they can file for an extension.

And maybe there's more: Could IDOR push the deadline back for first-time electronic filers on MyTax Illinois who make a good-faith effort to hit the deadline? Or waive the penalty for those people? Or at least shoot them a form to file for an extension?

Getting taxpayers to register is a sound idea, and if it takes 8 to 10 days to turn around the corresponding ID, so be it. All we're asking is a little consideration for somebody who - despite IDOR's attempts to reach everybody - remains in the dark until it is too late.