Haven’t Filed Your Taxes Yet? There’s Still Time to Avoid Penalties and Interest!

The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers who missed the recent tax-filing deadline who are due a refund that there is no penalty for filing late. Those who owe and missed the deadline without requesting an extension should file quickly to limit penalties and interest.

Extra time to file and pay any taxes due without penalties and interest is available for some taxpayers. Included are:

Here are some tips for late filers:

File to get a tax refund

The only way to get a refund is to file a tax return. There is no penalty for filing after the deadline if a refund is due.

COVID-19 continues to cause delays in some IRS services. If a taxpayer filed a paper tax return, the IRS will process it in the order it was received. Taxpayers should not file a second tax return or call the IRS. The IRS issues more than nine out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. However, it’s possible a tax return may require additional review and take longer.

Taxpayers can track a refund using the Where’s My Refund? tool on IRS.gov, IRS2Go and by phone at 800-829-1954. Taxpayers need the primary Social Security number on the tax return, the filing status and the expected refund amount. The tool updates once daily, usually overnight, so there’s no need to check more frequently. The Where’s My Refund? tool cannot be used to track Economic Impact Payments.

File to reduce penalties and interest

Normally, taxpayers should file their tax return, or request an extension, and pay any taxes they owe by the deadline to avoid penalties and interest. An extension to file is not an extension to pay. Penalties and interest will apply to taxes owed after May 17.

Even if a taxpayer can’t afford to immediately pay the taxes they owe, they should still file a tax return as soon as possible to reduce possible penalties. The IRS has more information for taxpayers who owe the IRS, but cannot afford to pay.

Ordinarily, the failure to file penalty is 5% of the tax owed for each month or part of a month that a tax return is late, up to five months, reduced by the failure to pay penalty amount for any month where both penalties apply. If a return is filed more than 60 days after the due date, the minimum penalty is either $435 or 100% of the unpaid tax, whichever is less. Filing and paying as much as possible is important because the late-filing penalty and late-payment penalty add up quickly. The failure to pay penalty rate is generally 0.5% of unpaid tax owed for each month or part of a month until the tax is fully paid or until 25% is reached. The rate is subject to change. For more information see IRS.gov/penalties.

Taxpayers who have a history of filing and paying on time often qualify for penalty relief. A taxpayer will usually qualify if they have filed and paid timely for the past three years and meet other requirements. For more information, see the first-time penalty abatement page on IRS.gov.

Interest is charged on tax and penalties until the balance is paid in full.

The longer you wait to file your taxes, the worse the outcome will be. Keep your money in your pocket, where it belongs! Contact us today and get back on track!