Category: Tax Forms & Instructions

 

Which Tax Extension Form Should You Use?

IRS Form 4868

Tax Form 4868, provided by the IRS, is officially known as the Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. This form needs to be filled out and submitted to the IRS if you cannot file your Federal personal income tax return by the original due date (usually April 15). Filing Form 4868 will gives you a 6-month extension on that deadline. However, make sure that you file the tax extension request with the IRS by the original filing deadline of April 15th.

This tax form provides an extension to all taxpayers who are filing personal income tax returns with the IRS. This includes individual taxpayers, independent contractors, sole proprietors, and single-member LLCs (limited liability companies). By using IRS Form 4868, you can extend the filing deadline for Tax Form 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040NR, 1040NR-EZ, 1040-SS, and 1040-PR.

It is important to note that the extension will only give you more time to file your return, and you still have to pay your taxes by the original due date (April 15). You will be required to provide an estimated amount of your owed taxes on your tax extension form. You have the option to pay all, some, or none of this tax amount when you submit your extension application. However, you may have to pay interest and late fees on any outstanding amount after the due date has passed.

Other Tax Extension Forms

• Tax Form 7004 (Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns)

• Tax Form 5558 (Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns)

• Tax Form 8892 (Application for Automation for Extension of Time to File Tax Form 709 and/or Payment of Gift or Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax)

• Tax Form 4768 (Application for Extension of Time to File a Return and/or Pay U. S. Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes)

• Tax Form 8809 (Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns)

• Tax Form 2350 (Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U. S. Income Tax Return: For U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad Who Expect to Qualify for Special Tax Treatment)

• Tax Form 8868 (Application for Extension of Time to File Exempt Organization Return)

• Tax Form 1138 (Extension of Time for Payment of Taxes by a Corporation Expecting a Net Operating Loss Carryback)

If you need a tax extension for filing your return, make sure that you fill out the right form accurately and submit it by the proper due date.

Deadlines and Due Dates for Personal Tax Extensions

If you cannot file your Federal income tax return by April 15 (following the tax year you’re filing for), you may be subjected to IRS penalties unless you get a tax extension. But you should know that it’s extremely easy to file a tax extension request with the IRS and get additional time to file your tax return. To request this type of extension, you will be required to complete and submit Tax Form 4868 to the IRS by April 15th at the latest.

The personal tax extension form (known as the “Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return”) allows you to get an extension of 6 months to prepare and file your taxes. This means that your tax-filing deadline would be extended to October 15 of the same year. Note that slightly different rules apply to U.S. taxpayers living abroad.

If you fail to file your tax return on time and you don’t get an extension and you owe money to the IRS, you will accrue interest and penalties on your entire outstanding tax payment. But if you submit Tax Form 4868 and get an extension, you will at least avoid the late filing penalty.

To avoid the IRS late payment penalty, you should pay at least 90% of your estimated tax liability by the original deadline (April 15). If the amount you’ve estimated (and paid) turns out to be higher than your actual tax liability for the year, you can file for a tax refund. Conversely, if the estimated amount that you’ve paid is less than your actual tax liability, you will have to pay the remaining amount by the extended due date.

There are several ways of estimating your tax liability so that you can pay on time and avoid incurring interest. If you are self-employed, and your income and expenses are similar to last year, you can probably assume that you will owe the same tax amount as you did last year. If you are a salaried employee, you should review your W-2 forms to determine what taxes your employer has already sent to the IRS on your behalf. Then, consider if there have been any significant changes in your income, expenses, and dependents as compared to the previous year. By doing so, you can get a close estimate of your tax liability for the current year.

Basically, there are 2 types of late fees that the IRS will charge if you owe tax and don’t file on time:

• Late Filing Penalty — Applies to your outstanding balance at 5% per month, up to a maximum of 5 months

• Late Payment Penalty — Applies to your outstanding balance at 0.5% per month, up to a maximum of 25%

In addition to these penalties, the IRS will charge you interest on any unpaid tax balance. Interest is compounded daily and is determined on a quarterly basis. The interest rate is the Federal short-term rate plus 3%.

Getting Additional Tax Extensions

By filing IRS Tax Form 4868, you can get an automatic personal extension of 6 months to file your taxes, starting from April 15. Once your tax extension is IRS-approved, the due date for filing your income tax return will be moved to October 15. Note that the IRS does not grant any other second or additional tax extensions beyond 6 months, except in a few specific situations.

Second Tax Extensions for Overseas Taxpayers

Individuals who are living outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico at the time their tax return is due can qualify for an automatic 2-month extension, moving their filing deadline to June 15. To request an additional 4-month tax extension, Form 4868 must be filed by June 15, which will extend the deadline to October 15.

Additional Tax Extensions for Active Duty Military Personnel

An additional extension is provided to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are on active duty (either in a combat zone or contingency operation area) during their original tax filling deadline. Qualified military members will receive an automatic 180-day extension, which begins on the day after they’ve left the combat zone or contingency operation area. For more information, see IRS Publication 3 (Armed Forces Tax Guide).

TaxExtension.com supports taxpayers who have foreign addresses and are living overseas. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Get your personal tax extension today!

If You Cannot File Your Taxes on Time, IRS Form 4868 is an Application to Get a 6-Month Extension on Your Tax Filing.

 

Will you be ready to file your annual Federal income tax return by the proper deadline (typically April 15)? If not, an automatic extension of time for filing taxes can be obtained, giving you 6 additional months to get your paperwork in order. To obtain this automatic extension, you will need to submit Tax Form 4868 to the IRS by the original filing deadline of your return (April 15).

Tax Form 4868 is designed for individuals who are required to report their personal income to IRS. It covers 1040 filers — including Tax Forms 1040, 1040A, 1040NR, 1040EZ, 1040NR-EZ, 1040-PR, and 1040-SS — 1099 independent contractors, Schedule C (Form 1040) sole proprietors, and single-member limited liability companies (LLCs). If you are looking for a personal tax extension, Form 4868 will extend your tax-filing deadline from April 15 to October 15.

However, you need to remember that the extension is only for filing your tax return and is not applicable to the payment of your taxes. You will still have to make your annual tax payment to the IRS by the original deadline (April 15) to avoid penalties. This means you’ll need to provide an estimate of the tax you owe when you request an extension. At TaxExtension.com, you can pay your taxes with your extension. You can pay all, some, or none of your estimated tax via direct withdrawal from your bank account using EFW (Electronic Funds Withdrawal) when you e-file your tax extension. But even if you cannot pay any of your tax due, you can still get a tax extension.

If you made an error on your tax extension application, there is a timeframe in which the IRS allows you to make corrections. Even better, if you use TaxExtension.com to e-file Form 4868 and (for whatever reason) your tax extension request is denied, you can fix the mistakes and resubmit your application at no additional charge!

TaxExtension.com supports taxpayers who have foreign addresses and are located outside the United States. Even so, there are some exceptions when it comes to certain partnerships and domestic corporations, as well as foreign corporations that don’t have a U.S. office.

Like all aspects of tax filing, filling out Tax Form 4868 can be a bit daunting. Luckily, you’re in the right place to learn how to file an extension application without being penalized by the IRS. Here is a step-by-step guide that you can follow to request a personal tax extension.

 

Part 1: Identification

Line 1: Name and Address

The very first thing you are required to provide is your identifying information. On the first line, you must enter your name and address. In the case of a joint income tax return, both spouses’ names should be entered in the order they appear on your tax return documentation.

If there has been a change in your name since the last time you filed taxes (due to marriage, divorce, or any other reason), the Social Security Administration (SSA) must be notified of the change before you submit IRS Form 4868. If you don’t get the name properly registered with the SSA beforehand, your tax extension application process will be delayed.

If you want to have IRS tax extension notices mailed to an address besides your own, you need to enter that address in Part I instead. If there has been a change in your address since the last time you filed taxes, you will be required to fill out Tax Form 8822 (Change of Address) to inform the IRS. Note that if you provide a new address on your tax extension application without submitting Form 8822, your records with the IRS will not be automatically updated.

Lines 2 and 3: Social Security Number(s)

Provide your Social Security Number (SSN) on Line 2 of Form 4868. For those who are filing their taxes jointly, Line 3 is reserved for your spouse’s Social Security Number.

For non-residents and resident aliens who don’t have a SSN and are not eligible for one, their Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) must be provided instead. While an ITIN is not required to file Form 4868, it is required to file your income tax return. Therefore, you should apply for an ITIN from the IRS as early as possible. For the time being, you can write “ITIN TO BE REQUESTED” on the line where it asks for a SSN. See IRS Form W-7 for more information.

 

Part 2: Individual Income Tax

When filling out Tax Form 4868, you have the option to round-off the cents to the nearest whole dollar. However, there are a few things you should remember when doing this. First off, if you decide to round-off one figure, you will have to do it for all the numbers on the form. The rules are: any amount below 50 cents should be rounded down to the next lower whole dollar, while any amount over 50 cents is rounded up to the next higher whole dollar. If you are adding more than one figure together, calculate their sum (including cents) first and then just round-off their total.

Line 4: Estimate Your Overall Tax Liability

On this line, you are required to provide your total income tax liability for the year. This is the same number that will appear on your income tax return (one of the following forms): Form 1040, Form 1040A, Form 1040EZ, Form 1040NR, Form 1040NR-EZ, Form 1040-PR, or Form 1040-SS.

If you have zero tax liability, you can enter -0- on your extension application. However, you should make sure that the numbers you provide are as precise as possible. If your numbers are way off, the IRS may consider your extension request to be void. Additionally, incorrectly estimating your tax liability probably means you will make a tax payment that is either too low or too high — both of which can lead to IRS penalties and interest.

Line 5: Provide Your Total Payments

On this line, you must provide the total payments you will be reporting on your income tax return. This includes estimated tax payments and money that was withheld from your paycheck throughout the year. This is the same number that will appear on your income tax return (one of the following forms): Form 1040, Form 1040A, Form 1040EZ, Form 1040NR, Form 1040NR-EZ, Form 1040-PR, or Form 1040-SS.

Line 6: Your Balance Due

Here, you need to enter your total unpaid tax balance for the year. Calculate this number by subtracting Line 5 from Line 4 (above). If the amount shown on Line 5 is greater than Line 4, simply enter -0- in this field.

Line 7: Amount You’re Paying with Your Tax Extension

This is where you enter the total amount you are paying to the IRS right now. If the amount indicated on Line 6 (above) is not affordable for you, getting a tax extension is still possible. Do your best to pay what you can, for now, to reduce the interest and penalties that will accrue on any outstanding balance. If you e-file your tax extension with TaxExtension.com, you can send an electronic tax payment to the IRS with your extension application.

Line 8: “Out of the Country” Filers

Check this box if you are living outside of the United States and Puerto Rico on the original deadline for filing your return.

Line 9: Form 1040NR and 1040NR-EZ Filers

Check this box if the deadline for your return is mid-June and you did not receive wages from which Federal income tax was withheld.

 

If you have any questions, the TaxExtension.com Support Team is available to help you.

E-file your personal tax extension online today!