Midnight tonight is the deadline for filing you federal income tax return. IRS spokesman, Christopher Miller, says there is an option if you don’t have your return ready to go. Miller says you can ask for an extension.
“It’s a form, 4868, it’s really easy to do,” Miller says. “You can go to our website, IRS.gov and go on the right side of our homepage and choose the “free file” icon. And anyone, regardless of income, can use those software products to file an extension form.”
Miller says the extension gives you more time to file the paperwork, but doesn’t exempt you from late-filing penalties. “You get an automatic six months — until October 15th — to file your taxes,” according to Miller.
“But this is important — an extension of time to file your return is not an extension of time to pay your taxes. So if you are one of those people who owes taxes, You’ll want to pay as much as you can by the due date, even if you have an extension to file to avoid further interest and penalties.”
Miller says tax filings have been behind schedule so far this year, so they expect many people to file at the deadline.