Federal IRS Extension

The deadline to efile a tax return is the same as to efile a tax extension: April 15.

Attention: The deadline to efile a tax extension expired on April 15!

Tax Tip: If you owe taxes but you have missed the filing deadline and you have not filed an extension, you should file your tax return now. It is too late to file an extension, but you should file your tax return to avoid further penalties and interest.

If you efile a tax extension before April 15 you will have two deadlines:

• April 15 for the tax extension and October 15 for the tax return.
• After April 15 you can no longer efile a tax extension. You will have until October 15 to efile a tax return.
• After October 15 you can prepare your tax return on efile.com but you must print and mail in your tax return.

Please consider this popular misconception about tax extensions before you efile an extension:

A tax extension is an extension of time to file, not an extension of time to pay. To minimize or avoid penalties, eFile recommends you prepare and efile a tax return even if you:

• Don't have all tax information to efile a tax return by Tax Day
• Don't have the money to pay all of your taxes by Tax Day

It takes almost as much time efile a tax extension as it does to start and efile a tax return, so you may as well prepare your return with the information you have and file on time. Even if you don't have all tax information by April 15 you can amend your tax return at any time.

Watch video about IRS federal income tax extensions.

Not sure if you will owe taxes? Use the free eFile tax calculator for a tax estimate.

If you don't have the money to pay your taxes in full, pay as much as you can with your tax return to minimize any failure-to-pay penalties. What if I can't pay the taxes I owe?

IRS Penalties: Deadline to efile a tax extension was April 15

Failure to efile/file a tax return or an IRS federal tax extension can be costly. If taxes are owed, a delay in filing may result in penalty and interest charges that could increase your tax bill by 25 percent or more. There is no penalty for the late filing of a return on which a refund is owed except for the delay of your refund.

If you do not file (or efile) and/or pay your taxes on time, you may be subject to IRS penalties:

• If you miss the April 15 deadline to file your tax return or request a tax extension, you may face a failure-to-file penalty: 5% of your unpaid taxes per month that you are late, up to 25% of your unpaid taxes.
• If you file more than 60 days late, your minimum failure-to-file penalty will be 100% of your unpaid taxes or $135, whichever is smaller.
• If you file on time but do not pay the full amount of taxes you owe, you may face a failure-to-pay penalty: 0.5% of your total unpaid taxes per month that you are late, up to 25% of your unpaid taxes.
• If you are subject to both penalties, the 0.5% failure-to-pay penalty will be subtracted from the 5% failure-to-file penalty, UNLESS your return is filed more than 60 days late.
• If you file a tax extension and pay 90% of your taxes owed by the April 15 deadline you will not face any penalties, as long as you pay the remainder and file your return by the extended deadline.

Because the failure-to-pay penalty is much less than the failure-to-file penalty, it is a good idea to file on time (either a tax return or a tax extension) even if you cannot afford to pay the taxes you owe. You will face less of a fine for paying late than for filing late.

Important: The only way to avoid penalties is to efile or file a tax return and pay all taxes due by April 15.

A Note on Refunds: There is no penalty for failure to file a tax return if a refund is due. But by waiting too long to file, you can lose your refund. In order to receive a refund, the return must be filed within three years of the due date. If you file a return, and later realize you made an error on the return, the deadline for claiming any refund due is three years after the return was filed, or two years after the tax was paid, whichever expires later.

Tax Return or IRS Extension?

You can start and efile a tax return on efile.com by Tax Day. Before you efile, know the tax amount you owe. Once your tax return has been accepted by the IRS you can make changes to this return by filing a tax amendment and download Form 1040x. There is no deadline to amend a tax return. If you efile a tax extension your deadline to efile the tax return is October 15 of the same year.

If you do not have enough tax information to start and efile a tax return by April 15 you should efile an IRS extension by April 15. However, you will need to find out how much you owe in taxes and submit payment by April 15 in order to avoid penalties/interest.

Tax Payment Options

One option: If you do not have the money to pay the taxes you owe, you can pay as much as you can afford now and pay the rest later. The IRS will most likely add penalties and/or interest to the late payments.

How much do you owe in taxes?

Option 1: Use the eFile free tax calculator.

Option 2: Start a tax return on eFile. Before you efile the return you will know whether you owe taxes based on all the tax information you entered.

As mentioned above, the consequences of efiling a tax return and only paying the taxes you can afford is the same as if you efiled a tax extension. Furthermore, you don't have to meet the October 15 deadline. However, if you decide to efile an extension at this point, you must sign out and then click on the tax extension link on the sign in page.

Taxpayers should efile/file all tax returns that are due, regardless of whether or not full payment can be made with the return. Depending on an individual's circumstances, filing late may qualify a taxpayer for a payment plan. All payment plans require continued compliance with all filing and payment responsibilities after the plan is approved.

Select from these options and act by April 15:

• Start, prepare, and efile a tax return now
• File a state tax extension

Please contact efile.com with any questions about tax extensions.

How to efile a Federal Income Tax Extension

Starting and efiling a federal tax extension is similar to starting and efiling a tax return.

Returning Users:

1. If you have previously started a tax return on efile.com and you now decide to efile an extension instead of a tax return, please sign in under "Returning Users" from the link below. After you have signed in, click on "Extension" next to "Preparing" near the top left of the screen. eFile will import your already entered tax information. Simply follow the on-screen instructions and edit your tax information as needed.

New Users:

1. If you have NOT previously started a tax return on efile.com please start an account under "New Users" from the link below. After you have signed in, click on "Extension" next to "Preparing" near the top left of the screen and follow the on-screen instructions.

Start and efile a Federal Tax Return Extension (ends on April 15, 2010)

How to File a State Income Tax Extension

You may not be able to efile a state income tax extension with a federal tax extension on efile.com. Please find out how to submit a state tax extension for a particular state.

Automatic Extension for Military and Relief Workers

If you are a member of the Armed Forces stationed out of the country at the time of your tax deadline (April 15) then you will automatically receive an extension of time to file your tax return. The new deadline is June 15. The extension is for time to file, not time to pay.

If you are a member of the Armed Forces serving in an officially designated combat zone (or contingency operation) on April 15, you will receive an extension of time to file and time to pay. The extension will be for 180 days plus the number of days you had left to file before you entered service in the combat zone.

Earthquake relief in Haiti under Operation United Response has been declared an official contingency operation and service there will be treated as service in a combat zone. If you are a military, Red Cross, or civilian worker participating in earthquake relief efforts in Haiti on April 15, you will receive the automatic deadline extension of 180 days plus the number of days you had left to file before you entered service in Haiti.

Learn more about deadline extensions for military and relief workers

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