by Roland McShane

Created on: February 26, 2010

In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, the soothsayer admonishes Caesar to "beware of the Ides of March."  For United States individual taxpayers, we have a month longer than Caesar before our end comes: Tax Day - April 15.  Unless April 15 falls on a weekend, then it is the deadline for paying your individual income taxes.  If the fifteenth does fall on a weekend, then the next business day is the deadline.

If a taxpayer does not have their return ready to file on April 15, then an automatic extension to file is available by filing Form 4868.  This will give the tax payer an additional six months to file their return.  Again, if the fifteenth of October falls on a weekend, then the deadline is the following business day.  Getting an extension to file your tax return is simple and available to anyone.  The harder deadline is the date when individual tax payers must have remitted all taxes due.  For most individual taxpayers, that date is April 15.  No extension for paying your taxes due is available.

When a taxpayer completes their return, they will know whether they are due a refund or owe more to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  If a tax payer is due a refund, the April 15 deadline is not that big of an issue.  If a taxpayer files after the fifteenth, then their refund will still be processed and mailed back to them.  However, if a tax payer owes taxes, then the only way to avoid penalties and interest on the unpaid amount due is to remit all taxes due by April 15.  In addition to applying for an automatic extension to file individual tax returns, Form 4868 is used to remit estimated taxes due.  Unless the taxpayer is certain that they are due a refund when they file, they should remit to the IRS the estimated balance due for their taxes on or before the tax deadline.  This can be done by writing a check, money order, or credit card.  Any overpayment will be refunded with interest when the return is filed.  Any underpayment will be assessed a penalty and interest which begin the day after April 15. 

Unless they are out of the country, in a Federally designated disaster area or have experienced a personal disaster which makes it impossible for them there is little excuse for taxpayers not to file a tax return on time.  However, the IRS has made ample allowance for late filers.  What the IRS will not make allowance for is late payers. 

For delinquent filers, those who have not filed tax returns for multiple years, the IRS can go back as far as they have records available and will file a tax return for the non-filer.  The IRS will file the return at the most disadvantageous filing status and with no adjustments to reduce income.  The IRS will usually not notify if a refund is due to the non-filer.  But if the delinquent non-filer owes to the IRS, then the IRS will take legal action to recover the taxes owed.  Once this happens, the delinquent filer will have an opportunity to amend the returns the IRS files up to three years back. 

Though traditionally there is not an "Ides of April," the IRS has made sure that all taxpayers in America know the date of April 15.  Beware! 

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