TAMPA, Fla. — The tax filing season is getting a late start this year due to the pandemic.  

The first day to file taxes for 2020 is Friday, February 12, unlike previous years where taxes could be filed around mid to late January.

If you owe money in from 2020, tax experts say the worst thing you could do is not file.

What You Need To Know

"Don't ignore it if you do owe taxes,” said Steve Ribble with Guardian Accounting Group in Tampa. “Talk to the IRS. They are willing to make the arrangements."

Ribble said there are tax complications from 2020.

If you didn't lose your job or have any pandemic impacts, chances are good not much has changed from previous years.

But if you lost work, collected unemployment and didn't pay anything in for taxes, you will owe those taxes back.

"There's a late filing penalty of 5% a month and that accumulates up to about 25% of the tax owed," Ribble said.  "So it's really important that even if they owe to go ahead and file their tax return on time."

And if you owe taxes back, Guardian Accounting Group says the IRS offers 3 options if you can't pay right away.

You can request a Full Payment Agreement which gives you 120 days to pay.

You can ask for an Installment Agreement which allows you to pay taxes back slowly over a 72-month period.

Or you can file a hardship request which would delay the payment until you are deemed financially able to pay.

Although tax filing season is getting a late start this year, the tax deadline is still April 15.

For more information and tips on filing taxes this year, visit https://guardianaccountinggroup.com/resources/quick-reads​