This post is by Kelly Phillips Erb at Forbes.com.

You’d think that the week after Tax Day would be quiet, but it’s not. Once tax time has come and gone, taxpayers are not completely off the hook. You’ll want to keep records and documentation on hand in the event that the IRS comes calling.

Here are some tips to help you figure out which records to keep and how long to keep them:

This post is by Laura Saunders of The Wall Street Journal.

Is a tax sin haunting you?

Maybe you paid a baby sitter under the table, or "forgot" to declare income, or deducted personal expenses as business costs. Perhaps you didn't know a large tax or a form was due and found out only later. Maybe you never filed at all.

Whatever the misdeed, it raises an urgent question: When can you breathe easy? When is your offense so old and cold that the Internal Revenue Service won't care -- or can't?

This post is by Robert W. Wood of Forbes.com.

You forgot to report some income on your 1040 or just got a corrected Form 1099 or K-1 in the mail. What should you do? Here are 5 tips for amending returns.

1. Amended returns aren’t mandatory. You might be surprised to find you are not obligated to file an amended return, even though tax advisers may tell you it’s a good idea. That’s because the IRS will probably send you a bill based on the revised Form 1099 or K-1 once IRS computers match that form against your return.

Amended returns are not mandatory even if something happens after you file that makes it clear your original return contains mistakes. Ask if the return you filed was accurate to your best knowledge when you filed it. If it was, you are probably safe in not filing an amendment.

Tax Day has come and gone, and we hope you filed your tax return, or at least requested an extension.

If you didn't get around to filing, the federal government is not going to haul you away in chains.

However, the Internal Revenue Service would still like to see your return, and the sooner the better. There is a penalty for failing to file a return, but the closer you are to the deadline, the smaller that penalty will be.

If you're due a refund, there is no penalty for filing late, but if you don't file within three years, you lose your refund.

This post is by Kay Bell of Bankrate.com.

If this year's tax filing deadline will be a "pay" day for you and you don't have the cash, the Internal Revenue Service gives you several payment options.

First, even if you can't pay your tax bill, go ahead and file your return on time. This way, you'll avoid the IRS' failure-to-file penalty of 5% per month (up to a maximum of 25%) of your balance due. You'll still face that penalty each month your bill is outstanding, but it's only 0.5% of the amount you owe.