Not Ready to File Your 1040? Get an Extension!

Okay, everyone, today’s the day! It’s Tax Day 2017, the deadline to have your 2016 personal tax return filed with the IRS.

Unless…

If you’re not ready to file, you still have options. Well, one option. Hmm, unless you decide to go rogue and not do anything. Okay, well, you have one legal option that doesn’t end in you owing lots of money in fines to the IRS. And that option is: Form 4868!

Form 4868, a.k.a. the Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return is just that: an application you can use to get an automatic six extra months to file your individual or joint tax return. It’s very easy to fill out; all you have to do is provide your basic taxpayer information (name, address, SSN) and an estimate of the taxes you owe or will receive as a refund. That’s it - you don’t even need to have a reason for why you need more time to file.

Keep in mind that if you’re filing a joint personal tax return, you can still use Form 4868, but you will need your spouse’s taxpayer information (name and SSN as it appears with the IRS) as well. You’ll also want to keep in mind that Form 4868 only extends the amount of time you have to file your tax return forms; it doesn’t extend the deadline to pay any taxes you may owe.

Now, Form 4868 is also due today, but as you can gather from the information needed, it won’t take nearly as long as completing your 1040 Form. In fact, if you e-file it with our sister product, ExpressExtension, you’ll be done in just a few minutes and receive email confirmation of your extension from the IRS within 15 minutes to an hour!

So what are you waiting for? Stop rushing through that 1040 and take a break to go file your 4868 application form. Then, you’ll be able to come back to your tax return anytime between now and October and finish it when you can give it the attention it deserves. Because goodness knows the IRS isn’t crazy about incorrectly completed or filed returns.

If you have any questions about getting started with ExpressExtension, give us a call and we’ll connect you with one of the friendly EE team members, or contact them directly at (803) 514-5155.