The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today announced that it’s extending the hours of its Income Tax Call Center through the April 18 filing deadline to assist taxpayers.

On the final two days of the filing season, Monday, April 17 and Tuesday, April 18, the call center (518-457-5181) will remain open until 7:30 p.m. to assist taxpayers with last minute tax return filing questions.

The call center’s normal hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We’re expanding our hours of operation to assist more customers,” Acting Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Nonie Manion said. “So far this tax season, representatives have answered more than 321,000 calls from taxpayers regarding tax return filing questions and refund status. They expect to answer about 30,000 additional calls over the final two days of the season.”

For taxpayers comfortable using a home computer or mobile device, many questions can be answered quickly by visiting www.tax.ny.gov. More than 9.2 million taxpayers have accessed the Tax Department’s website so far this income tax season. Nearly 75,000 of them have accessed the free filing page, while nearly 2.5 million others have checked their refund status using the Tax Department’s convenient online tool.

The refund tool is available at www.tax.ny.gov (search: check your refund) and is updated daily. It provides the same information available from the automated refund telephone line (518-457-5149) and from call center representatives. Both options are available 24/7.