by Roland McShane

Created on: February 27, 2010

For most United States individual taxpayers, April 15 is tax due date.  If the fifteenth is a weekend, then the next business day is the deadline.  If all taxes are not paid by that date, then the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will begin assessing interest and penalties.  However, there are many situations where a taxpayer who is prepared to pay all taxes due is not able to file their tax returns by April 15.  In these cases, taxpayers are eligible to apply for an extension to file.  All taxpayers qualify to file Form 4868 for an automatic extension.  For fiscal year taxpayers, those whose tax year is not the calendar year which most taxpayers observe, the same principles apply: file Form 4868 before your tax due date for an automatic six month extension but all taxes must be paid by your tax due date.  Remember, the extension gives you extra time to file your tax return, not pay what taxes are due. 

Citizens who live outside the United States and Puerto Rico, including those serving abroad in the military, are automatically granted a a two month extension of the April 15 deadline.  Even though citizens living abroad are allowed to file returns by June 15, all taxes must be paid by April 15 or interest and penalties will be assessed.  By checking the appropriate box on Form 4868, you indicate that you live abroad.  If taxpayers living abroad expect that they will qualify for special tax treatment under the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (Form 2555 or 2555EZ), then they should file Form 2350.  The suggested deadlines for filing Form 2350 now become confusing.  Citizens living abroad should file Form 2350 by their tax due date (April 15) or by their return due date (June 15) but within enough time that if the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion is disallowed they will have enough time to file a timely tax return.  It is best to contact a tax professional if this applies to you. 

Individual tax payers can get an automatic six month extension to file tax returns by filing Form 4868.  This one-page form is easy to complete and can be filed electronically or via regular post mail.  To complete Form 4868 the taxpayer must fill in their name, address, and social security number for them and their spouse.  The requirement to estimate the total tax due may not be as easy as filling in your basic information.  A computation of the total tax due is required to ensure that full payment is remitted by the April 15 deadline.  When in doubt of how much you owe, it is possible to remit additional taxes to insure that you will not be subject to underpayment penalties and interest.  Any overpayment can be refunded when the tax return is filed. 

To summarize, all taxpayers are eligible for an automatic six month extension of the deadline to file their tax returns.  Dates will vary depending on whether the taxpayer is a fiscal year or calendar year taxpayer.  Dates will also vary if the taxpayer lives abroad and if those living abroad may qualify for special tax treatment of their income. No taxpayer is eligible for an extension to pay their tax.  The tax due date is always the fifteenth day of the fourth month following the end of your tax year.  For most individual taxpayers, this is April 15. 

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