BATON ROUGE — The countdown is on to file federal taxes if you haven't done so already. The deadline to file is by midnight on Wednesday, April 15.

The good news is you still have time to file your state taxes that are due May 15.

If you file by mail, the IRS will consider your return filed on time if it was postmarked by the due date. If you file online or through tax software, the IRS will use the date when your filed return was transmitted to determine if it was on time.

It must be transmitted on or before midnight on tax day to avoid penalties.

"Go ahead and file now, file today. If you don't think you'll be able to go ahead and request an extension because the failure to file penalty is ten times higher than failure to pay penalty," Alison Flores with H&R Block said.

You have the option to file by mail, online or with a tax professional. If you don't think you will be able to do these by midnight, you can file for a six-month extension.

To do so, you will need to fill out Form 4868 on the IRS website. This will give you until Oct. 15 to file your taxes.