It’s less than two weeks until Tax Day, and time is ticking for filing federal and state income tax returns. If you’re a renter in Minnesota & haven’t yet filed, you’ll want to know about a few changes made to the state’s tax forms this year.

Statistics from the IRS show that about one in four Americans wait until the last minute to even start prepping their tax paperwork. The longer you wait, the more likely you are to make mistakes when filing your taxes.

Some of the most common slip-ups are math errors, incorrect social security numbers, missing signatures or the wrong date. Sometimes, using a tax prep service can help with filing federal and state income tax returns. But with less than two weeks until Tax Day, there is still time for Minnesotans to file for an extension if needed.

Gabriel Hendrickson with Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, explains an extension does give you more time. Especially if you know you will have to pay back to the IRS.

“It’s always the busiest time of the year and it’s been crazy. We usually have back to back appointments all day. If you don’t know if you’re going to get everything in, or you want to just be safe, you can totally do that. We file extensions. It doesn’t cost anything extra. You have six months, I think October 15th then.”

When you file for an extension and you owe money to the IRS, it might actually cost you more in the long run, according to Hendrickson.

“If you owe money in, then there is interest on that money that you owe in, because otherwise they would have wanted it earlier, like by April 15th. So there is, it’s 6% annually,” Hendrickson said. “If you don’t have that extension, then there are going to be late fees, 5% on those late fees. So you want to get it done as quickly as possible. So you pay less interest. If you let it ramble on for a couple of years, then you’re going to end up all in a lot of money, which we have seen.”

Now one big change this year for Minnesotans is the Renter’s Credit. Hendrickson says for renters, it’s important to have all that information at hand when you file your state return.

“Previous years, it was completely separate. It was like the property tax refund, which is still separate. This year, it’s going with the state return. So bring in a certificate of rent paid and we can take care of them,” Hendrickson said. “Come in, we can try and file everything. If you’re like, ‘Oh wait, I forgot about this, forgot about this,’ then we can file that extension. It’s not a problem.”

Now, there are a number of resources available for people who qualify for free tax prep. These include the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA, as well as AARP Tax-Aide.