SOUTHINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) – Monday is April 15 and you know what that means, it’s Tax Day.

If you haven’t filed that paperwork yet, you can file for an extension, which means you have another six months to file the paperwork. However, you still have to pay the government by midnight.

“The biggest thing is file something,” said James Leggett, who owns L&R Tax Specialists in Southington. “If you have your paperwork together, hopefully you can get it in, and people like us are running around trying to get it filed for you. Especially if you owe.”

If you’re not sure what you owe, the experts say just pay what you did last year to avoid late penalties and interest.

“When you don’t file, you get the failure to file penalties, so that’s a 5% penalty on money owed, monthly,” Leggett said.

He says we did not see major policy changes affecting 2023 taxes, just a few smaller ones.

“Some older things kind of coming back into play,” Leggett said. “Original child tax credits, dependent credits, which were inflated for COVID, going back to normal.”

If you’re not sure what you owe, here’s what the IRS says you should do.

“If you owed last year and your income and your tax situation is basically the same you owe this year,” said Luis Garcia, with the IRS. “So here’s what you do. Go to irs.gov. Make a payment. Whatever payment it was last year.”

About a quarter of all Americans wait until the last minute to file their taxes. There are also some new resources to help. There is expanded in-person and toll-free phone help from the IRS.

Most people get a tax refund, so the sooner you file, the sooner you get that money back. Experts also said doing your taxes is a good way of checking up on your overall finances.

“It really is a valuable x-ray of where you’ve been and where you’re going,” said Ted Rossman, from Bankrate. “Honestly, if you get a big refund this year, the best approach might be to adjust your withholding so that you get more of that in your paycheck throughout the year. I know everybody loves getting a refund, but frankly, it’s your money that you’ve lent to the government with an interest-free loan for many months. So I like the idea of trying to break even at tax time.”

If you already filed and are expecting a refund, you can check the IRS’s “Where’s my refund?” tool at IRS.gov.