Business returns are due March 15th, and individual returns are due April 15th.
Here’s what to do if you need more time.
🐝The deadline is close, but I need more time!
If you require more time to file your individual or business tax return, you can file an application for an extension. This allows six additional months to complete your tax return without any failure-to-file penalties. An extension must be filed BEFORE the filing deadline — March 15th for businesses, and April 15th for individuals.
Filing an extension ONLY allows additional time to file the tax return. It DOES NOT allow additional time to pay your taxes that are due.
🐝How do I file an extension?
All extensions estimate the total tax liability for the year and subtracts any payments made through the year. If there is a balance due, that means all of the tax has not been paid. When filing an extension and expecting a balance due, it is strongly recommended to pay the total amount of tax (or a substantial portion of it). REMEMBER, an extension only provides additional time to FILE the tax return, NOT to pay for the taxes due. If a return is filed on-time while on extension, any remaining balance due may result in penalties or interest, since the total tax was not paid on time.
Individuals can file Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, before the April 15th filing deadline. Individuals are granted an additional six months to file their 1040 tax return, with a final deadline of November 15th.
Most businesses can file Form 7004, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns, before the March 15th deadline. Businesses are granted an additional six months to file their 1040 tax return, with a final deadline of October 15th.
Other types of extensions include:
- Form 1138, Extension of Time for Payment of Taxes by a Corporation Expecting a Net Operating Loss Carryback
- Form 2350, Application for Extension to File U.S. Income Tax Return (For U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad Who Expect To Qualify for Special Tax Treatment)
- Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns
- Form 8868, Application for Extension of Time To File an Exempt Organization Return
- Form 4768, Application for Extension of Time to File a Return and/or Pay U.S. Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Taxes
- Form 8892, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File Form 709 and/or Payment of Gift/Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
🐝Extensions due to natural disasters
When a natural disaster occurs (such as a hurricane, wildfire, flooding, or severe storms), the IRS wants to help taxpayers during these times.
FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) first issues an emergency declaration for regions that experienced a natural disaster. The IRS will then provide guidance to areas that were affected, often pushing back deadlines for taxpayers and businesses in the affected region. Often, only certain counties in the state will qualify for relief.
An example is Hurricane Idalia, which impacted Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina in late August 2023. Each of those states were issued an emergency declaration and the IRS provided guidance to individuals and businesses in those states. Only 46 of Florida’s 67 counties qualified for the disaster tax relief. This relief included extending the filing deadline to February 15, 2024 for all accepted extensions that were originally due on Oct. 15th (for businesses) and Nov. 15th (for individuals), an additional three to four months. This also extended periods of time to make quarterly tax payments and abated penalties for failure to pay during that time.
To determine if your area was in a disaster area, visit the IRS’s Tax relief in disaster situations page, which you can view by year or by state.
🐝Have more questions, or ready to file?
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