KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tax Day 2018 brought long lines and many customers to tax offices across the country on Tuesday, including in the metro.
At the Tax Gallery on Troost Avenue, which has been in operation for over 60 years, customers waited for up to an hour to see a tax preparer.
“The whole tax season is busy but the last couple of days is mass chaos really,” explained Ken Baylie, who has worked as a tax professional for almost 30 years. “It’s like five things going on at the same time. People picking up. People calling. People still wanting to get in.”
Customers who spoke to 41 Action News offered a variety of reasons as to why they waited until the deadline to get their taxes done.
“Getting documents. That was the only reason why I was waiting,” explained Brenda Hilton, who said she received a refund this year. “Once I got my documents, then I was good to go.”
Others said waiting until Tax Day had become a habit for them.
“I normally wait until the last minute,” explained Jonathan Maze. “I just like getting my refund during the summer months.”
Maze waited in the lobby of the Tax Gallery for parts of the morning and said the crowd of people surprised him.
“I thought it would be empty,” he explained. “I got here early and all that. It was packed.”
This year’s tax season brought continuing concerns of scams.
In the metro, Ken Baylie said his office dealt with calls from people who received messages from scammers posing as the IRS.
“I’ve gotten tax scam phone calls and I know the IRS doesn’t call,” the tax preparer said. “We get calls from people panicked all the time saying, ‘What do I do here? They’re coming out to get me.’”
The IRS also issued warnings earlier this year saying scammers were targeting tax preparers.
According to the federal agency, hackers worked to obtain a person’s previous tax return to file a fraudulent one under the victim’s name.
Eventually, the hacker was able to scam the victim out of money.
Baylie told 41 Action News that having to deal with all sorts of scams added to the importance of his job.
“Tax companies are big targets. They’re trying to get our data and information,” he explained. “We’ve got to be ultra protective of the information we have.”
Following the Tax Day deadline, people can request an extension to file.
The IRS expects almost 12 million people across the country to file a request for an extension this year.
