Reasons to Get More Time to File a Return

Last updated on April 14, 2023

The tax filing season will end on the midnight of April 15^th. If you think you might not be able to file your taxes before the April 15^th deadline, it is advisable to file for a six-month extension to file. To date, the IRS has received 100 million tax returns and is expecting to receive 35 million more before the deadline. If you cannot file before the deadline, Daily American also suggests filing for an extension because:

“Getting started late and rushing to file can lead to headaches, particularly if you haven’t organized the various receipts and forms, such as bank statements or W-2 forms that you may need to complete your return.

“‘When you sit down to do your return at the last minute, if you’re realizing you’re stuck, don’t know what’s happening or have an unexpected result and need more help, the best thing to do would be to file for an extension,’ said Lindsey Buchholz, a principal analyst at H&R Block.”

“If it looks like you’re not going to make the deadline, and you owe unpaid taxes, it pays to ask for more time. That’s because if you miss the deadline and fail to ask for an extension, the IRS will hit you with a monthly penalty of 5 percent of your unpaid tax balance. The quickest way to request an extension is to fill out the automatic extension of time to file – Form 4868 on www.irs.gov . It’s also available through most tax preparation software.”

To avoid penalties and interest, and for unpaid taxes not to be treated as tax debt, you must make sure that you file for an extension properly and before the April 15th deadline. Daily American shows you the easiest method to get an extension to file:

“Extension requests via mail must be postmarked by Tuesday to be considered on time. Forms filed on the IRS website or by using tax software can be sent in as late as 11:59 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.

“Getting more time to file your return doesn’t mean you have more time to pay your 2013 tax bill, however.

“‘Some people mistakenly think that if they owe money and they file an extension that also gets them an extra six months to pay, which is not the case,” Buchholz said.

“The IRS requires taxpayers to pay up by Tuesday’s deadline, or face interest charges on unpaid taxes.”

“If you file your tax return on time or get an extension, but fail to pay, the IRS will charge a monthly late payment penalty of 0.5 percent of your unpaid taxes. That translates to a $25 penalty if you owe $5,000. It is charged each month or part of a month the tax goes unpaid, up to 25 percent, or $1,250 on that $5,000.

“In addition, the IRS will assess an annual 3 percent interest rate, compounded daily, on what you owe.”

Filing for an extension is the simplest way to get more time to file and to avoid the last-minute rush, inaccurately filed tax returns and penalties and interest. After filing for an extension, you can file your 2013 tax return by October 15^th, 2014.