The IRS provides some options if you are unable to file your tax return on time.
Today is Tax Day and if you haven't filed your 2023 returns yet, you may face costly penalties immediately after the April 15 deadline.
Taxpayers who file their tax returns electronically have until midnight on Tax Day to file. Paper returns must be postmarked by April 15 to not be marked as late.
Despite the IRS expecting to process more than 146 million individual tax returns this filing season, the agency will still notice if you fail to file your returns on time, so here's what may happen if you don't file or pay your taxes on time.
What happens if you don’t file a tax return?
If you fail to file your taxes by April 15 and do not request an extension, the IRS may assess a failure-to-file penalty on the amount of any unpaid taxes.
The penalty for failing to file is 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month your return is late, with a maximum of 25% of the total balance due.
The agency may also assess a failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% per month. Similarly to the failure-to-file penalty, the failure-to-pay penalty is capped at 25% of the total balance due.
If both penalties are imposed on your late return, the IRS will reduce one by .5%. For example: Instead of a 5% failure-to-file penalty, you would be charged a 4.5% failure-to-file penalty and a 0.5% failure-to-pay penalty.
The combined maximum for both penalties would be 47.5% (25% late payment and 22.5% late filing) of the tax due.
If your tax return is more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty for missing the deadline is currently $485 or the entire amount of tax owed, whichever is less.
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Are there any other penalties?
If you don't pay your taxes within a few months after the April 15 deadline, the IRS may send you letters indicating how much you owe.
The IRS may then send you collection notices or phone calls and eventually issue a Notice of Intent to Levy indicating some of your assets may be seized to cover the amount due. This could include your home, car, bank accounts or a portion of your paycheck.
What if you don't file taxes but don't owe anything?
Suppose you expect to not owe taxes this tax season. In that case, the IRS generally will not impose any penalties on your return — but not filing may limit your ability to claim any tax deductions or credits you may be entitled to, which in turn might make you owe taxes.
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How to request a tax filing extension
If you need more time to file your taxes, you can use the IRS Free File tool or other tax-filing software to file Form 4868, to request a tax-filing extension until Oct. 15, 2024.
You can also make an electronic payment on your taxes and select "extension" to request a change of deadline.
The IRS has also allowed residents within certain areas of these states to file their federal taxes by June 17, 2024:
- California
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Michigan
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Washington
- West Virginia
How can I track my refund?
According to recent IRS statistics, as of March 22, the average tax refund was $3,081 and most were issued in less than 21 days.
You can track your refund using the IRS' "Where's my Refund?" tool. You must have your SSN or ITIN number, filing status and exact refund amount on your return to use this tool.
