Good news for procrastinators.? The IRS is giving everyone a few extra days to complete their 2016 federal income returns this year.? According to the IRS:
The filing deadline to submit 2016 tax returns is Tuesday, April 18, 2017, rather than the traditional April 15 date. In 2017, April 15 falls on a Saturday, and this would usually move the filing deadline to the following Monday ? April 17. However, Emancipation Day ? a legal holiday in the District of Columbia ? will be observed on that Monday, which pushes the nation?s filing deadline to Tuesday, April 18, 2017. Under the tax law, legal holidays in the District of Columbia affect the filing deadline across the nation.
Extensions to file –?If you cannot file by the due date of your return, then you can request an extension of time to file. To receive an automatic 6-month extension of time to file your return, you can file?Form 4868?by the due date of your return. See?Topic 304?[see below]?for more information. However, an extension of time to file is?not?an extension of time to pay. You will owe interest on any past-due tax and you may be subject to a late-payment penalty if the payment of tax is not made by the original due date of your return?[and the amount of taxes you owe exceeds 10% of your total tax liability]?.
Topic 304 – Extensions of Time to File Your Tax Return
There are three ways to request an automatic extension of time to file your U.S. individual income tax return. The request for extension of time to file must be made by the regular due date of your return to avoid the penalty for filing late. An extension of time to file is?not?an extension of time to pay.
You may file your extension in any one of three ways listed below:
- Pay all or part of your estimated income tax due and indicate that the payment is for an extension using?Direct Pay, the?Electronic Federal Tax Payment System?(EFTPS), or a?credit or debit card. You will receive a confirmation number for your records.
- E-file?Form 4868?(PDF),?Application For Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Tax Return, using your personal computer or through a tax professional.
- File a paper Form 4868 and enclose payment of your estimate of tax due.?
If you file the Form 4868 electronically, be sure to have a copy of your prior year’s return; you will be asked to provide your prior year’s adjusted gross income (AGI) amount for verification purposes. Once you file, you will receive an electronic acknowledgement that the IRS has accepted your filing. Keep this for your records.
Out of the Country ??You are allowed two extra months (generally until June 15) to file your return and pay any tax due without requesting an extension if you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, and on the regular due date of your return you are either living outside of the United States and Puerto Rico, and your main place of business or post of duty is outside of the United States and Puerto Rico, or in military or naval service on duty outside of the United States and Puerto Rico.
Check Out Some Articles About Extensions Written for Prior Years’ Newsletters:
Below are some informative articles we posted during April of the prior years? addressing the April 15th deadline:
- April 2015:??Buy Yourself 6 Months on April 15th
- April 2014:??Unable to Pay Your Taxes by April 15th?
- April 2011:??Three More F’n Days This Year