This year the tax filing deadline is April 17th. You can file for an automatic extension (for an automatic 6 months of extra time) if you need a while to get your paperwork together. It is an extremely simple process with only about 2 questions asked. So simple that you might be tempted to file an extension for the wrong reason, you owe money and can’t afford to pay it right now. FILING AN EXTENSION DOES NOT EXTEND THE TIME THAT YOU HAVE TO PAY THE TAX DUE.
If you can not pay the tax that is due you should still file your return to avoid the filing penalty. A late filing penalty can be ten times more than the penalty for not paying. Of course, if you pay a portion of the amount due at the time you file this will reduce the amount of penalties an interest that the IRS will charge, which is currently 5% per year in interest per year and 0.5% in penalties per month. While these amounts add up unless you have super low interest on your credit card or other lines of credit it may be smarter financially to set up an installment agreement to pay the amount owed. If you need help setting up an installment agreement, we are happy to help.
Other Considerations
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If you are a U.S. Citizen living and working abroad you have until June 15, 2018, to file your return.
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If you are a disaster victim: taxpayers affected by Hurricane Harvey, Tropical Storm Harvey, Hurricane Irma, or the California Wildfires have until April 30, 2018, to file their returns. Taxpayers affected by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands have until June 29th, 2018 to file their returns. The Internal Revenue’s Service’s definition of an affected taxpayer is an individual, business entity or sole proprietor, or any shareholder in an S corporation whose necessary records to meet the filing deadline are located in a covered area. You must write in red at the top of your return your assigned disaster designation, for example, “Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria”. The Internal Revenue Service has set up a special hotline for disaster victims 866-568-5227. Please call them with any questions.
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Members of the military on duty outside of the United States and Puerto Rico receive an automatic two-month extension to file. Those serving in combat zones have 180 days after they leave the combat zone to file returns and pay any taxes due.
To contact the author email info@fasttaxhelp.org. For blog info https://www.fasttaxhelp.org.
