By Joyce M. Rosenberg
The Associated Press

NEW YORK - August finds some small-business owners in emotional upheaval - they're the ones who didn't get their tax returns filed in April and who have dawdled away the months since then.

Friday is the deadline for taxpayers, including sole proprietors who attach Schedule C to their 1040s, to file their returns after having gotten an extension of the April 15 due date.

Sometimes there are good reasons to put off filing your return. For example, it can buy a small-business owner more time to make contributions to retirement plans, such as Simplified Employee Pensions. Sometimes a taxpayer has to wait for a delayed Schedule K-1 from a partnership before filing.

But at this point in the year, most of the business owners who still haven't filed are the procrastinators, many of whom have problems that go beyond filling out their returns, said Bob Doyle, a certified public accountant with Spoor, Doyle & Associates in St. Petersburg, Fla.

A company owner who hasn't completed a 2002 tax return probably doesn't have a very good handle on how the business is doing in 2003, said Doyle, explaining that "accounting information is the language of business."

Without that information, a business owner stands to miss quite a bit.

"What opportunities have you overlooked? What kind of errors have you made?" Doyle asked.

Accountants warn that owners who don't get their companies' finances under control stand to lose the business or find themselves in a great deal of debt. Many who haven't filed their 1040s by now also haven't made their quarterly estimated tax payments and are facing penalties and interest charges.

For many owners, the problem is a matter of time. They have the best of intentions, but are so busy running the business that they end up neglecting the financial side of their work. Doyle says this is often the problem for such professionals as doctors.

The answer for many of these owners is to get help from a financial professional such as an accountant or attorney with taxes. And if no one is keeping an accurate set of books, someone should be hired for that chore.

It may cost several thousand dollars a year, but the investment is critical for owners who just can't get it done themselves.

In the meantime, there's the matter of that still-unfiled 1040. Unless you're close to having it done, it's probably best at this point to turn it over to a professional. If you rush to try to complete it yourself, you can make mistakes that can cost you, again in the form of interest and penalties.

If there's no way to get the return done by the Aug. 15 deadline, it's still possible to get another extension, for two months until Oct. 15. But this time, you don't automatically get the extra time - the IRS asks for an explanation of why you need it, and then will decide whether or not to grant the extension.

Doyle said, however, that he has yet to see the government reject a request.

For this extension, you'll need Form 2688, Application for Additional Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (when you applied for the first extension in April, you used Form 4868). You must file Form 2688 by Friday, but in the instructions on the back of the form, the IRS suggests you file sooner.

That way, if your request is turned down, you still have time to get your return in by Friday.

You can file Form 2688 electronically, but if you do, be sure to get an electronic acknowledgment and print it out for your records. If you send the form in by mail, use certified or registered mail and get a return receipt.

Form 2688 can be downloaded from the IRS Web site, www.irs.gov, or gotten by calling (800) TAX-FORM.

If you do get the extra time to complete your return, keep in mind that you're now running six months behind, and the more time you spend on last year's taxes, the less you're spending on this year's business and the future.