Tax Forms Tough to Find as Filing Deadline Looms : Countdown: Crowds grow at IRS offices as materials run short at banks and post offices. Many complain of inadequate staffing for taxpayer assistance.

Michael Cane, his hands full of hard-to-get tax forms, said the problem is getting worse.

And the problem, the Huntington Beach lawyer said Monday, is finding the income tax forms and the information taxpayers need to file their returns before the midnight Wednesday deadline.

“I came down here (to the state and federal buildings in Santa Ana) to pick up extra forms that some of my clients are going to need,” Cane said. “Many people just can’t find these forms in places such as post offices. And for many people, trying to get down here is the hard part.”

Scores of people waiting in line Monday afternoon at the Internal Revenue Service office in the Federal Building seemed to underscore Cane’s point.

“You just can’t go to a library or post office and get certain forms you need,” said Sam Zeller, 24, of Anaheim. “And so here I am, making my once-a-year visit (to the IRS office). Here I am, picking up my forms and publications.”

For people who have delayed doing their taxes, the hours are quickly running out. And just like time, state and federal income tax forms and publications are also in short supply at the more convenient locations. Many banks and post offices have no tax forms left. Some libraries still have original forms for duplication, at a fee, but lines are often long.

“It really hit the fan today,” Marianna Hof, manager of the Costa Mesa branch library, said of the number of people looking for income tax forms. “They’re lined up three deep around the counter looking for forms. It started at lunch. Evidently, they talked about it in the morning with their co-workers, so all of a sudden, they descended on us at once.”

Hof said the last-minute deluge is history repeating itself. Last year on April 15, the Costa Mesa library tallied more than 2,000 people coming in that single day--double the usual number of daily patrons.

And those patrons were a little more difficult to deal with than the usual library denizens, Hof said.

“People are really testy about this,” she said. “I guess they’re just under such pressure. But if you’re not handing them the form they need as they walk in the door, they’re very impatient.”

Many people on Monday gave up hunting for forms elsewhere and went to the Civic Center in Santa Ana. Adjacent buildings there have offices offering help--and all varieties of tax forms.

The IRS has a taxpayer-assistance office on the second floor of the Federal Building, on the corner of Santa Ana Boulevard and Parton Street.

On the opposite corner of the intersection, the state Franchise Tax Board has a taxpayer-assistance office in the Sunwest Bank Building, on the third floor.

Streams of people, including attorney Cane, were flowing in and out of the two buildings.

Cane, in a street-side interview, blamed part of the problem of scarcity of tax forms on cutbacks by the federal government.

“Some forms just are not provided by mail to the taxpayer as they once were,” Cane said. “An example is Form 3903, which is the (federal) form for moving expenses. That form used to be part of the package sent in the mail, but no longer.”

At the IRS office, taxpayers queued up in separate lines. One line was to request tax forms. The other--much slower moving--was for assistance with filing problems.

As the taxpayer-assistance line moved slowly, many in line grumbled that the IRS was not providing enough staff for the predictable rush.

IRS officials “make up all these forms, so they ought to have enough people to help you with these forms,” said Rockie Herrera of Fountain Valley.

Behind Herrera in the line, two men bitterly criticized federal tax policy.

“Jerry Brown is an idiot, in my view, but he has a point on the flat tax,” said one man. “It’s regressive, of course, but a flat tax is simple. What the nation has now is intolerable. You have CPAs and lawyers getting rich because ordinary people can no longer figure out the tax laws or do their own taxes.”

The man’s companion in the line agreed that former Gov. Brown’s flat tax idea has merit. “You could just say, ‘I earned this much, and this is how much I owe,’ ” he said.

The state’s Franchise Tax Board office, unlike the IRS, offered rows of comfortable seats for taxpayers to rest as they waited for their numbers to be called. Lines also moved faster there than in the IRS office across the street.

Linda Janes, a state taxpayer assistance worker, said many Californians still do not know they no longer need to file a form for a time extension on their state income tax.

“It’s a new change this year,” Janes said. “If a person owes the state money, he can just figure what the amount is and mail in the check. He then has until Oct. 15 to file the forms, and he doesn’t need to file a form asking for an extension. Also, if a person doesn’t owe any money to the state or has money coming back, he automatically has until Oct. 15 to file, and he also doesn’t have to file for a time extension.”

Federal officials said there will be fewer late-filing taxpayers this year. The reason is that many more people filed earlier than usual.

IRS spokeswoman Judith A. Golden said: “They’re filing forms earlier this year. They say they need their tax refunds faster this year because of economic hard times.”

Tax Night Postal Service

Ten Orange County post offices and 15 smaller contract stations will offer extended service to accommodate taxpayers who want to file their returns by the midnight Wednesday deadline. Here’s a list of what services are available where.

POST OFFICES

Anaheim Post Office, 801 N. Loara St.: Window service and mail collection from 6 p.m. until midnight.

Costa Mesa Post Office, 1590 Adams Ave.: Mail collections until 9 p.m.

El Toro Post Office, 24552 Raymond Way: Window service and mail collection from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Huntington Beach Post Office, 6771 Warner Ave.: Mail collection until midnight.

Laguna Niguel Post Office, 29911 Niguel Road: Mail collection until midnight.

Laguna Hills Post Office, 24001 Calle de la Magdalena: Mail collection until midnight.

Newport Beach Post Office, 1133 Camelback St.: Window service until 10 p.m., mail collection until midnight.

Orange Post Office, 1075 Tustin Ave.: Mail collection until midnight.

Santa Ana General Mail Facility, 3101 Sunflower Ave.: Window service until 9 p.m., mail collection until midnight.

Santa Ana North Grand Station, 2201 N. Grand Ave.: Mail collection until midnight.

CONTRACT STATIONS

Stamps and mail collection will be available until midnight at the following contract postal stations:

Clines Stationers, 2316 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim.

Farr’s Stationers, 1170 W. Baker St., Suite J, Costa Mesa.

Farr’s Stationers, 16333 Harbor Blvd., Fountain Valley.

Smith’s Food Center, 914 W. Orangethorpe Ave., Fullerton.

Garden Gift Center, 8877 Garden Grove Blvd., Garden Grove.

Card Corner, 12550 Valley View St., Garden Grove.

Kim’s Pharmacy, 9828 Garden Grove Blvd., Suite 101, Garden Grove.

Express Office Supplies, 2119 Main St., Suite 7, Huntington Beach.

Alicia Stationers, 25782 Obrero Drive, Suite C, Mission Viejo.

Flowers Unlimited, 24011 Marguerite Parkway, Suite E, Mission Viejo.

Sandscript Hallmark, 85 Calle de Industries, San Clemente.

Franklin Printing, 14712 Franklin Ave., Suite C, Tustin.

Dandy’s Hallmark, 19631 Yorba Linda Blvd., Yorba Linda.

Smith’s Food Center, 4848 Valley View Ave., Yorba Linda.

The City Shopping Center, 27 City Boulevard East, Orange, will be open until 9 p.m. for stamps and mail collection.

Source: U.S. Postal Service

Need a Tax Form?

Federal tax forms and filing assistance are available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays at the following Internal Revenue Service offices:

* 24000 Avila Road, Laguna Niguel.

* 34 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana.

State tax forms and filing assistance are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at the Franchise Tax Board office in the Sunwest Bank Building, 600 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Suite 300, Santa Ana.