WASHINGTON - Most people file their tax returns electronically because it's convenient, despite lingering concerns about the security of their most sensitive financial information, according to a new AP poll.

The tax filing deadline is Tuesday, April 17, because April 15 falls on a Sunday this year and April 16 is Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in Washington. D.C. Only 19 percent of the public knew early this month about the two-day grace period, the AP-AOL Money & Finances poll found.

Half of those surveyed said they use a professional tax preparer to file their returns, a quarter use a software program, 15 percent do the returns the old fashioned way with pen and paper and 8 percent ask a friend or family member for help, according to the survey conducted by Ipsos, an international polling firm.

Like most people, Hahn wasn't aware of the extra two days past April 15 to file, but she said her husband would be filing their return electronically on time. ‘‘He doesn't want to give it to the government until he has to,'' she said.

Whatever the deadline, the frantic ritual of racing to the Post Office to get envelopes postmarked just in time is giving way to the online age.

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