7 tax tasks to take care of by April 15

And so it has begun. The countdown to the annual tax filing deadline.

There are lots of tax moves to make in April. But for most of us, the focus is on April 15.

And it's not just the Internal Revenue Service forms you need to worry about.

There are seven tax considerations that face this mid-month cutoff. April 15 is the last day to:

1. File your 2013 personal income tax return or an extension (Form 4868) that will push the deadline to Oct. 15.
2. Pay any tax, or a close estimate, that you owe. That six-month extension is for the paperwork only, not the money Uncle Sam is due.
3. Pay your first quarter of 2014 estimated taxes.
4. Make a contribution for the 2013 tax year to your IRA, either Roth or traditional.
5. Make a contribution for the 2013 tax year to your health savings account (HSA).
6. File a 2010 tax year return to collect that year's refund you overlooked. If you don't do it this year, you'll never get your money.
7. File a state tax return in most of the states that require them.

Don't put them off until the last minute. If several apply to your tax situation, you still have time to parcel them out over the days leading up to April 15.

You'd think that would be enough, right? But there are some additional April tax actions you can take.

You'll find more in the April Tax Moves listed in the ol' blog's right column.

And hang tough! We're almost there.