Despite a late start to file her tax forms, Blanka Chrominska said she will mail them before today’s midnight deadline.

The international business junior was rifling through tax forms at the East Lansing Post Office on Sunday, trying to find the right tax forms.

“I didn’t get my W2 form very early and I had papers to write - things just piled up,” she said.

Chrominska is not alone. According to the IRS, about 25 percent of income tax returns are filed in the last week before the deadline.

The Poland native said she doesn’t expect any complications.

“I am an international student so it is not that hard to fill out only two forms,” she said.

Peering into the shelves that held the forms at the post office, Sarah Hopkins said she would help Chrominska fill out the paperwork. Hopkins filed her forms last month.

“I got them in early because my dad wanted to get them in,” the pathology junior said.

Hopkins said that encouragement helped because she had an error in her forms that she had to correct.

Hopkins said she understood why Chrominska and others wait.

“It’s just not something you want to do right away,” she said.

East Lansing resident Delores Halstead joined the last minute rush, dropping her tax forms in the mailbox Sunday.

The U.S. Postal Service expects to handle 200 million returns for the 2000 tax year.

“I have to pay more than I thought, so I am waiting for the last minute to send my money,” Halstead said. “Usually, I file the week of, not the day of.”

Halstead said although with the help of an accountant, filing went smoothly, she has not considered filing online.

“Because it’s taxes, I want to make sure everything is right,” she said. “This is the way it has always been done - a tradition.”

Sarah Wreford, IRS spokeswoman for Michigan, gave suggestions for last-minute filers like Halstead.

“Best thing to do is to file electronically from an online computer, go to the IRS Web site - www.irs.gov - and connect to the transmitter and they send it to us,” she said.

She said filing online has the added bonus of immediately telling the filer of any errors, avoiding a possible penalty.

“Returns need to reach the Internal Revenue Service by 12 midnight, so I wouldn’t transmit at 11:59 p.m., because if there is an error it will be late,” Wreford said.

Filing online also results in a faster return. If the filer chooses a direct deposit, he or she could receive a refund within 10 days.

However, Wreford said today’s filers should remember to slow down and avoid making mistakes.

“Last-minute taxpayers tend to rush, you want to put it aside for an hour and then check the math again,” she said.

IRS Telefile, a system that allows selected taxpayers to use a telephone to file taxes, is popular among students, Wreford said. But taxpayers who have that option already have been sent kits explaining the process.

Wreford said those who just won’t make the deadline should file an extension, which can also be done by phone for the first time this year.

“You can file an extension of time to file to August 15th, but that is not an extension to pay,” she said. “If you expect to pay you need to send a payment.”