Tax season, which ends Thursday, means long days and late hours for many tax preparers in the DeKalb area.

Last-minute filers are swarming to local tax firms and burying these professionals in forms and receipts.

“You have all your late-season filers realizing that April 15 is coming up,” said Carme Gregory, premium director at H&R Block in Sycamore.

Even though her business maintains regular hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., she said she sometimes has to make exceptions for customers.

On Wednesday, Gregory had a midnight visitor in the form of a truck driver. He made a special appointment to meet with Gregory to file his taxes when he would be in town.

“Got to get it done. Little elves aren’t going to come and do it for me,” said Tony Koach, who has been a certified public accountant for 14 years and is based out of an office at 2700 N. First St. He has been working 16-hour days just to get everything done for his clients

Koach said it takes a lot of coffee to get through it all. He said his skills improve in the increased-pressure environment. What would take him a long time before, he now can do in 15 minutes.

However, the rush has gotten better over the years. The Internal Revenue Service has improved its online filing system.

For the extreme offenders who don’t file until after April 15, taxpayers have to file for an extension, Gregory said. If money is owed, it’s a good idea to send about what is owed to avoid any penalties for paying late. Extensions are good for four months.

The IRS Web site, www.irs.gov, has advice for filers and allows tax payers to file online. Last minute filers can go to local tax firms and CPAs for help.