Taxes due in general terms refer to the taxes that were supposed to be paid but have not been paid due to some reason. April 15th is the deadline in the US to pay taxes. The taxes could be paid by cash physically or you can opt to pay them online. In very rare cases if there are a couple of holidays falling in between then the deadline is extended beyond April 15th for the convenience of the tax payers. If by any chance you think you will not be able to pay taxes on time then you should immediately request for an extension form wherein you are required to mention the reason for the delay.

Taxes due is an offence:
The extension provided is generally for a period of six months. Also, you need to pay at a higher interest rate if you choose extension. Taxes due could happen because of many reasons like non availability of liquid cash, lack of money or some difficulty in matching the accounts. You should always try and work on your taxes well in advance. In fact, a lot of people calculate how much they should be paying in advance and keep that money aside. Procrastinating never helps. Taxes due could lead you to big trouble. A defaulter is punished by the law as it is a serious offence to not be able to pay your taxes on time.

Why tax paying is important?
A responsible citizen should always take care to pay taxes on time. Anybody who does not take income tax seriously has committed an offence and could be punished by law. Not paying your taxes on time is a crime. There are different types of taxes that you have to keep paying throughout the year. The different taxes are water tax, electricity tax, corporate tax, income tax, service tax on various commodities and also various other taxes. Taxpaying is important as the money generated from paying taxes is utilized for general welfare. All the money collected from taxes is used in developing roads, infrastructure, building government schools and colleges, developing parks, maintaining and cleaning the city and so on. So, this money is given back to the society in terms of improved services.

Generally to work out the taxes annually especially income tax people go to chartered accountants for managing their income in such a way that minimum tax is paid. Almost everyone with decent income go for professional help. Taxes can be managed by managing your sources of income. Usually to escape the burden of heavy taxation people provide proof that half of their income is invested somewhere or the other, so that they are taxed less. Some people also try and hide their real income and give a fake figure to the government. It is not advisable to do it as it is like stealing the money that is not your own. Taxes due should be avoided to whatever extent possible and it is always better to be honest about your earnings.