TORONTO — The Canada Revenue Agency will keep tax offices across the country open until the clock strikes midnight on Monday to accommodate the usual flurry of last-minute filers who dilly-dally right to the deadline.

Procrastinators are being urged to file their income tax returns on time to avoid costly late fees and associated interest penalties -- avoidable payments that padded federal coffers with an extra $36.4 million of Canadians' hard-earned cash in 2002.

"They are unnecessary penalties,'' said CRA spokesman Peter Delis, adding returns filed or postmarked after May 2 are considered late with no exceptions.

"Get your returns in -- regardless of whether you have the funds to pay. You're better off saving on those late filing penalties.''

Those who owe money on their taxes and cannot attach a payment to their return can call the CRA when they receive their notice of assessment to make arrangements to pay the balance later.

Generally, the penalty for filing a return late is five per cent of the tax owed plus an additional one per cent for each month the return is late up to a year. The current interest rate is seven per cent.

Normally, the deadline for filing income taxes is April 30, but because that date falls on a weekend this year, Canadians have until Monday to get their returns in order. Many Canada Post outlets will also be open until midnight on Monday to accommodate the last-minute crunch.

Eleventh-hour filers should do their best to take advantage of that extra working day, said National Revenue Minister John McCallum in a release.

Missing the deadline also means delays in pocketing any potential refund, along with scheduled payments of Canada Child Tax Benefits and goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax credits.

The cut-off point is slightly different for self-employed individuals and their spouses who must file before midnight on June 15. However, to avoid interest charges, self-employed individuals are still required to pay their balance owing by Monday.

The CRA receives about 24 million income tax returns every year. As of April 21, more than 14 million had already been received -- with 56 per cent of those filed electronically.

In fact, this is the first year that electronic filing -- which includes sending a return using Netfile, taking it to a tax preparer who will send it electronically through E-file or sending it over the telephone using Telefile -- is expected to outpace traditional paper returns.

"More and more Canadians are discovering that electronic filing is the fastest and easiest way to file their returns,'' explained McCallum.

"There are fewer errors and individuals get their tax refunds in as few as eight business days, or less with direct deposit.''

But without fail, about 1.7 million Canadians file late every year, based on statistics from the 2002 tax year, the latest for which the CRA has figures. That's in line with historical levels of tax-filing tardiness, Delis said.

Of that bunch, about 254,610 were slapped with late filing penalties totalling a whopping $36.5 million for 2002 alone.

Ontario has the worst reputation for late filing with 767,320 overdue returns ringing up some $17 million in late fees -- about half the national total.

Nunavut had the least number of late returns with 2,290, while Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec had slightly more than 200,000 each.

"We all procrastinate sometimes. We leave it for the last minute,'' Delis said. "But when the last minute comes around, something else always tends to be in the way.''

And while there are countless excuses for blowing the deadline, such as missing T4 slips and other receipts, it is always best to approximate those amounts now and file an adjustment later. Pay stubs or cancelled cheques can help determine income amounts in the absence of a T4 slip.

"Most tend to file on time,'' Delis added. "Nobody wants to pay more than they should.''