As the April deadline approaches, the City of Ironton is changing the way it reminds residents to file their income taxes.

Last week the city sent out bright orange postcards to remind residents that they are required to file taxes.

In past years the city has sent letters along with blank forms for residents to complete. This year’s 3,652 postcards will save the city between $800 and $1,000 in postage, not to mention the paper, envelopes, toner, and man-hours, Kristen Martin, city finance director, said.

Last year the city spent more than $2,000 in supplies for the letters.

The postcards offer reminders of the city’s ordinances for income tax. All city residents are required to file taxes, regardless of whether their employers withhold their taxes.

Monetary penalties are imposed if the residents haven’t filed by the tax deadline, which has been extended three days along with the federal deadline until April 18.

If residents file within 30 days after the deadline, there is a $25 fine. Those who file between 30 and 120 days of the deadline are required to pay a $50 fine, and anyone who files 120 days or more after the deadline will pay a $100 fine.

Last year there were 900 residents who didn’t file by the deadline.

“It’s not that it was a problem. They just didn’t understand,” Martin said. “Years before when they didn’t file in accordance with the ordinance they weren’t charged.”

The fine is part of a 2007 revision to the tax ordinance. It was effective during the 2008 tax season and strictly enforced during the 2009 season.

“A lot of individuals thought that since they were withheld on they didn’t have to file so they disregarded the letter,” Martin said. “In disregarding the letter when they got the delinquency letter they found out that they were going to be imposed a $50 fine even though they didn’t owe the city any taxes.”

The new orange postcards are hard to miss, which is the point, Martin said.

“(The letters) just seemed overwhelming and we wanted something really simple,” she said.

While residents will not be getting blank tax forms in the mail this year, they may pick them up in several places.

The city’s income tax department which is located in the Ironton City Center, Briggs Library, H&R Block and other tax associates will all have the forms.

Residents can also access them on the city’s website, www.ironton-ohio.com.

Once they have the forms, residents may take them to the income tax department for free assistance. All that’s required are W-2 forms and a copy of a federal return.

The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The office can be reached at (740) 532-9241.