With the tax season officially coming to a close on April 15, 2025, many taxpayers will be happy not to have to worry about filing their IRS taxes for another year. However, some individuals may have until October 15 to file their taxes. Due to a variety of reasons, some people choose to apply for an extension. This can be because you run into tax complications you did not expect when you begin to file, or it can even be applied to you automatically by the IRS if you are affected by a natural disaster.
Can you still apply for an extension?
It is important to note that the general deadline for taxpayers to pay and file their taxes has passed. This means that you also cannot apply for an extension retrospectively if you missed the deadline. When applying for an extension, you need to do so before the annual deadline to file. It is also important to note that if you are granted an extension, it is only for your tax filing. Taxes are still always due to be paid by the deadline, for this year, April 15.
Historically, the IRS has noted that a significant majority of taxpayers do pay their taxes on time and are compliant with the tax deadlines. The IRS estimates that over the past 30 years, the tax gap has fluctuated between 15%-18% of total tax liability. This gap refers to the difference between the true tax liability owed to the IRS and the actual amount of taxes paid on time. In other words, around 15%-18% of taxpayers each year have failed to pay their taxes by the annual deadline.
Who qualified for an extension this year?
The IRS policy on tax filing extensions stipulates three methods you can utilize to apply for an extension to file your taxes:
- Pay your taxes online and indicate that you are applying for an extension to file
- Use the IRS Free File tool to apply and request an automatic tax filing extension
- File Form 4868 by mail or online. If you choose to mail the form, the IRS will recognize that you applied for the extension on time, as long as they can see that the form was mailed before the due date
If you are a US resident with tax obligations and you live outside of the US, you automatically have an additional two months automatically applied to your filing deadline. Additionally, if you have been affected by a natural disaster in your region, the IRS generally provides a blanket extension for you and your community to file your taxes.
What happens if you were affected by the Southern California wildfires?
If you are a resident of California and were affected by the Southern California wildfires earlier this year, you automatically have an extension to file your taxes for October 15. You also have an extension to pay any tax liability you could not pay on time by the April 15 deadline. This deadline also applies to state tax. If you are filing your state tax late, the state tax agency says you must write “Los Angeles Fire” on your tax paper state tax form to notify the agency why you are filing late.
If you find yourself in a position where you cannot pay your taxes by the deadline, the IRS states that you should pay what tax liability you can and apply for a payment plan instead of paying nothing at all. It is a federal requirement to pay your taxes, and failure to do so can result in increased penalties and interest on your tax liability. Instead of doing this, always make sure you contact the IRS and communicate that you need assistance to work out a plan to pay your debt.
