The deadline to file your 2010 tax return is just six weeks away. If you do your own taxes, getting started now can help avoid the crowds and that last-minute rush leading up to this year's April 18 deadline (more about that extended date later).

Here are some tips and information to help you get through one of the more stressful times of the year:

TALK TO A LIVE PERSON WITH THE IRS

Yes, it is possible. The Internal Revenue has a Taxpayer Assistance Center in downtown Salt Lake City at 50 S. 200 East that is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. To help those who can't make it to the office during the week, the office will be open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 26. The office offers free assistance to taxpayers who need help filing their returns. Help also is available for those with questions about their accounts, such as queries on collection issues.

The IRS also has an office near downtown Salt Lake City at 210 N. 1950 West that is open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday, as well as offices in Ogden and Provo. For more information, go to http://bit.ly/eyGZfS.

FILE FOR FREE

Taxpayers with 2010 adjusted gross incomes of $58,000 or less can prepare and file returns for free using the IRS Free File program. Go to freefile.irs.gov for more information. If you make more than that amount, you can still submit a return for free via the Free File program, but you won't be guided through the process of filing your return. You will need to do much of the work yourself and input your data into tax forms.

STEER CLEAR OF TAX SCAMS

Each year during the tax season, the IRS receives thousands of reports from taxpayers who receive suspicious e-mails, phone calls, faxes or notices claiming to be from the agency.

Most are scams — pretty good ones in fact — designed to trick you into revealing your personal financial information. Some e-mails contain the IRS name and logo, and look official. But they are attempts at "phishing," the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information.

Here's some things you should know about the IRS. The agency isn't going to contact you and ask for information such as credit card or account numbers, PIN numbers and/or passwords.

The agency also does not initiate communication with taxpayers by e-mail. If you receive an unsolicited e-mail, don't reply, don't open any attachments and do not click on any links.

And if you are trying to get help online, the official IRS site is www.irs.gov. Sites such as irs.com, irs.net and irs.org are not affiliated with the federal agency.

If you receive any type of communication purporting to be from the IRS — whether it be a phone call, fax or letter — call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to confirm.

CONSIDER FILING — EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO

Some taxpayers aren't required to file a return for a variety of reasons, such as their incomes are too low. But by not filing, they could be forfeiting tax refund money.

In most cases, taxpayers have three years to claim any refund to which they might be entitled. After that, the money becomes property of the U.S. Treasury. And that's what is about to happen to $8.4 million in refund money intended for an estimated 7,600 Utahns who haven't yet filed their 2007 federal income tax returns, the IRS says.

The money is part of $1.1 billion in unclaimed refunds nationally. Usually, the individual amounts are enough to make it worth the hassle of preparing and filing a return. The IRS estimates that the median unclaimed refund for the 2007 tax year in Utah is $560. To get started, you'll need to file a return for the 2007 tax year before April 18.

April 15 is not the deadline this year because Emancipation Day, a holiday observed in the District of Columbia, falls on that Friday. By law, District holidays impact tax deadlines, so all taxpayers will have three extra days to file this year. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Oct. 17 to file 2010 tax returns.

Lesley Mitchell writes One Cheap Chick in daily blog form at blogs.sltrib.com/cheap —

Free help on weekend

For those who can't make it during the week, the Internal Revenue Service will open its Taxpayer Assistance Center in downtown Salt Lake City at 50 S. 200 East from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, March 26.