As "Tax Day" approaches each year, you might start to panic if you haven't filed your federal income tax return yet (the last day to file a 2023 federal income tax return is April 15, 2024, for most people).
But don't worry if you can't file your tax return before the deadline. Getting a tax filing extension that pushes your filing deadline back six months is easy. And you don't even need to explain why you need more time. All you have to do is follow a few simple steps.
But there is a catch. An extension to file your tax return doesn't extend the time to pay any tax due. So, you must estimate the amount of tax you will owe and send it to the IRS by the regular tax return filing deadline.
Otherwise, the IRS will charge you interest on the unpaid balance (even if you had a good reason for not paying on time) and tack on additional penalties for filing and paying late.
File Form 4868 or pay your tax electronically
There are two methods for requesting an automatic six-month tax return filing extension: File Form 4868 or make an electronic tax payment. Either way, you need to act by your tax return filing deadline. (Taxpayers in some states may have tax deadline extensions due to natural disasters.)
The most common way to get an extension is to file Form 4868. You can send the form to the IRS by mail or electronically. If you mail a paper version of the form, it must be postmarked by the regular due date of your return. You also have to use the U.S. Postal Service to mail the form if you're including a payment, since it must be delivered to a P.O. box (private delivery services can't deliver items to an IRS P.O. box).
- If you are not making a payment, you can use certain private delivery services. If you submit the form electronically, have a copy of your tax return for the previous year handy, because you'll be asked to provide information from that return to verify your identity (you can e-file the form on your computer or have a tax professional do it for you).
- If you are filing the form yourself, consider using the IRS Free File or Free File Fillable Forms to prepare and e-file your tax return for free. Both are available on the IRS website.
The other way to get a tax filing extension is to make an electronic tax payment by the due date for your federal tax return. All you have to do is pay all or part of your estimated income tax bill using the IRS Direct Pay service (payment directly from a bank account), the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, a credit or debit card (processing fees may apply), or a digital wallet.
- Make sure that you note that the payment is for a tax extension and keep the confirmation number. Your best bet is to start on the IRS's "Pay Online" website to make an electronic federal tax payment.
- You don't have to file a separate Form 4868 when making an electronic payment and indicating it's for an extension – the IRS will automatically treat it as an extension request.
With either of these two methods, you will not receive any notice of approval from the IRS. But the IRS will let you know if your request for a filing extension is denied because it was too late.
When you eventually file your tax return (i.e., before the extended due date), you can subtract the extension payment from the tax due as shown on the return.
Taxpayers living abroad tax extension options
Several special rules provide U.S. citizens living outside the country more time to file their federal income tax returns. First, you are allowed an automatic two-month extension to file your return and pay your taxes if you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien and, on the regular due date of your return, you are (1) living out of the country and your main place of business or duty post is also outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico, or (2) serving in the military on duty outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico. (That pushes the deadline to June 17, 2024).
Filing Form 4868 isn't required to get this tax extension. Still, you must attach a statement explaining which of the two situations described above applies when you eventually file your return. If you're married and filing a joint return, either you or your spouse can qualify for this extension. However, if you and your spouse file separate returns, this extension only applies only to the spouse who qualifies for it.
Caution: Even though taxpayers living abroad can get an extra two months to pay any tax due without incurring a penalty, interest still applies to payments received after your regular filing due date.
Taxpayers living abroad who can't file their return before the two-month extension expires can still get an additional four months to file their return like everyone else. That will typically extend the filing due date to October 15 (or the next business day).
You have to request this tax filing extension before the two-month extension is up by filing Form 4868. (Make sure you check the box on line 8 of the form.) This filing extension does not extend the time to pay your tax.
Taxpayers who are out of the country can also request an additional, discretionary two-month filing extension. This will push the filing deadline to December 16 (the next business day since December 15 falls on a weekend or holiday). To get this extra tax extension, you must send the IRS a letter by the October 15 deadline explaining the reasons why you need the additional two months. Mail the letter to:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Austin, TX 73301-0045
The IRS will let you know if the request is denied. If you don't hear back from them, you are good to go.
If you are outside the U.S., you can also request a tax filing extension beyond October 15 if you need time to meet certain tests to qualify for an exclusion or deduction for foreign earned income or housing. This extension will generally be for 30 days beyond the date that you reasonably expect to qualify for the exclusion or deduction. To request this tax extension, file Form 2350 with the IRS by the due date for filing your return.
Generally, if both your tax home and your abode are outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico on the regular due date of your return, the due date for filing your return for purposes of this extension is June 17, 2024. If you are granted this tax filing extension, you cannot also get the discretionary two-month additional extension mentioned above.
Tax extensions for those serving in combat zones
The deadline for filing your tax return and paying your tax is automatically extended if you serve in a combat zone or contingency operation. There's a two-step process for figuring the length of this type of tax extension.
First, your deadline is extended for 180 days after (1) the last day you are in a combat zone, have qualifying service outside of the combat zone, or serve in a contingency operation; or (2) the last day of any continuous hospitalization for an injury from service in the combat zone or contingency operation, or while performing qualifying service outside of the combat zone. Use whichever of these two dates is the latest.
Second, your deadline also is extended beyond 180 days by the number of days you had left to take action with the IRS when you entered the combat zone. For example, you have roughly 3½ months each year (e.g., January 1 to April 15) to file your tax return. Any days left in this period when you entered the combat zone (or the entire 3½ months if you entered it before the beginning of the year) are added to the 180 days.
Spouses of military personnel who served in a combat zone or contingency operation are generally entitled to this extension, too. However, the extension doesn't apply to a spouse for any tax year beginning more than two years after the area in question ceases to be a combat zone or an operation ceases to be a contingency operation. It also doesn't apply to a spouse for any period the service member is hospitalized in the U.S. for injuries incurred in a combat zone or contingency operation.
This tax extension isn't just for military personnel, either. It can be claimed by merchant marines on ships under the Department of Defense's control, Red Cross personnel, war correspondents and civilians supporting the military.
Residents of Maine and Massachusetts sometimes get more time to file
While it isn't exactly a "tax extension," people who live in Maine or Massachusetts sometimes have more time to file their federal income tax return, as is the case for 2024. The IRS cannot set a tax due date on a holiday (including a state holiday).
Patriot's Day is a state holiday in Maine and Massachusetts commemorating Revolutionary War battles that is celebrated each year on the third Monday in April. If Patriot's Day falls on the regular due date for filing your federal income tax return, then residents of Maine and Massachusetts get an extra day to file their federal return.
So, this year, residents of Maine and Massachusetts have until April 17, 2024, to file their 2023 returns.
More time to file for victims of natural disasters
Victims of certain natural disasters might also get more time to file their federal tax return and pay any federal tax owed (again, it's not a tax extension in the normal sense). If that's the case, they can also wait until their new tax return filing deadline to request a six-month filing extension.
This type of tax relief is typically authorized by the IRS after a disaster declaration is issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a natural disaster.
For a full list of impacted states, see States With IRS Tax Deadline Extensions for 2024.
State tax filing extensions
Your state may have different rules and due dates for extending state income tax returns. Some states have deadlines each year that come after the federal tax return filing due date. So, be sure to check with your state's tax agency to see how tax return filing and payment extensions work where you live.
Should you request a filing extension?
Just because you can easily get a tax return filing extension, that doesn't necessarily mean you ought to. You might be better off just biting the bullet and getting your tax return done before your filing deadline. On the other hand, having more time could improve your bottom line.
To help you decide if it's better for you to request an extension or file your return now, see Pros and Cons of Getting a Tax Extension.
