There's Still Time to Extend Your Tax Deadline!

The 2015 tax filing deadline is just a week away: April 18, 2016 (April 19 for Maine and Massachusetts). But if you’re not ready, there’s still time to get more time!

Extension Form 4868
Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, can extend your personal filing deadline from April 18 to October 17 when filed by next Monday. You can file for an extension using Form 4868 if you usually file one of these tax return documents:
-Form 1040               -Form 1040A               -Form 1040-EZ
-Form 1040NR         -Form 1040NR-EZ      -Form 1040-PR
-Form 1040NR-SS

It’s Time to File, Not Time to Pay
The fine print on Form 4868 - and most other IRS extension forms - is that this form only offers an extension of time to file that other form you need to file, not pay the taxes you owe (if any). This means when filling out Form 4868, you’ll need to give an estimate of how much you’ll be paying back to the government, or indicate that you either don’t owe anything or are eligible for a refund. If you do owe taxes and they aren’t paid by April 18, you could be penalized and charged interest for late payments.

E-filing Form 4868
Of course, e-filing is the quickest way to submit Form 4868, but did you know that the easiest (and also best) way to e-file 4868 is with our sister product, ExpressExtension. It breaks 4868 down into easy-to-follow steps, and even allows you to pay all or part of any taxes owed before you transmit your form. Once your extension’s been approved, you’ll receive an email from us letting you know, usually within 15 minutes of filing.

Not to brag, but this email notification’s kind of a big deal. When you file 4868 directly with the IRS, they don’t send you any sort of notice that your extension request has been approved, rejected, or even received. This leaves you to either a) assume your form was accepted (and potentially face the consequences for assuming), or b) call the IRS and maybe, eventually, get in touch with someone who can tell you the status of your extension.

The Information You Need to File
Filling out Form 4868 is relatively easy as far as IRS documents go. In addition to your tax owed estimate, you’ll need to enter your name, address, and social security number. Not too bad, right? But watch out if you’re filing jointly: it can get a little confusing as you’ll need to know your spouse’s name, address, and social security number as well.

And If You Have Questions
While technically Form 4868 is ExpessExtension territory, you can still give us a call with questions regarding e-filing if you prefer! We’re available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT by live chat and phone, (704) 839-2270. Or send us an email at support@ExpressIRSForms.com. But, if you’d rather you can also call ExpressExtension at (803) 514-5155 or email them at support@ExpressExtension.com!

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E-file Form 8809 to Extend Your 1099 & W-2 Deadline

In case you hadn’t heard, the deadline to have your 1099 and W-2 Forms e-filed with the IRS is this Thursday, March 31. Now, you do have until 11:59 p.m. your time to get these forms transmitted, which means you’ve got the better part of four days to get everything done. But if that still seems like a pretty daunting task, have we got a form for you!

Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns, can be e-filed for an automatic extra 30 days to e-file your 1099 and W-2 forms. Even better: it can be e-filed through ExpressIRSForms! It’s only $2.99 to process, and if you do pull off your filing by Thursday, you won’t be penalized for having filed an extension form. Just think of it as your very own tax-filing safety net. We’ll even show you how to e-file it now:

From your Dashboard, select Start New Form. A pop-up will appear, from which you can select to File an Extension:

On the next page, you’ll enter your payer information, or the information of the person or entity applying for an extension. You can do this by selecting a payer from the drop-down menu, or manually entering your payer information and clicking Next.

On the next screen, you’ll select which forms you need to extend. In this example, I chose to extend the filing due date for my W-2 forms:

Click Next to continue to your Summary screen. From here you can review and delete and extension forms you’ve started. You can also add a new extension form for another payer by selecting the option circled below:

Once you’re satisfied with your extension(s), click Continue to view a summary of your transaction before checking out:

Click Continue, and on the next page, you’ll select a credit card you’ve already entered or enter the details for a new one to pay the processing fee to e-file your extension. Once you’ve made sure your payment is secure, click to continue to the next page.

You’ll see this summary screen before your form is transmitted. Remember: your extension form will not be sent to the IRS until you hit that big, green “Pay and Transmit” button. We’ll then keep you updated on the status of your extension via email. So long as everything goes well - and depending on IRS wait times - you could be approved for 30 extra days to file in less than 30 minutes!

If you have any questions or need help e-filing your Form 8809 extension, feel free to reach out to our support team. We’re always happy to help! You can give us a call (704-839-2270) or send us a live chat Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT. Need after hours help? Send us an email to support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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Today's the Last Day to Extend Your Business Return

Hey, business filers! You’ve got a lot of filing going on right now, what with the 1099 and W-2 e-filing deadline at the end of the month, and, oh yeah, the business tax return deadline that’s today!

If you’ve been a little distracted (and who could blame you?) and need some more time to file your business’s tax return, then now’s the time to act. And by act, I mean head on over to our sister product’s site, www.ExpressExtension.com, to e-file a Form 7004.

Form 7004 is the business tax extension form, and it must be filed by March 15 (today) each year. Once your form’s been processed by the IRS, you’ll be granted an automatic 5- or 6-month extension to file your tax return. Specific partnerships, trusts, and estates are only eligible for a 5-month extension, but most business will see their due date extend from March 15 to September 15.

Keep in mind that Form 7004 only extends your time to file your return, not pay any taxes owed. You’ll still need to pay any taxes your business owes to the IRS by today. You can contact the IRS directly for information on setting up a payment plan at the IRS’s business tax hotline, 1-800-829-4933.

E-filing Form 7004 with ExpressExtension only takes a few minutes if you have all of your information prepared, and your extension is generally processed and accepted within an hour of filing. To file, you’ll need the name, address, and EIN of your business, which must match what the IRS has on file. Additionally, you’ll need to provide an estimate of how much you owe in taxes. A reason, however, isn’t required to get an extension of time to file.

After your extension has been processed, ExpressExtension will even send you an email letting you know whether your form was accepted or rejected. If you paper file an extension, it’s not the IRS’s policy to notify you whether or not they accepted it: best case scenario, it gets accepted, and everything proceeds as normal. On the other hand, if it gets rejected and you assumed it wouldn’t be, you’re looking at a lot of late filing penalties. So use ExpressExtension. I know we’re a little biased, but wouldn’t you rather be 100% sure of your extension’s acceptance? Plus, if it does get rejected, you can correct and retransmit your form absolutely free!

We’ll be back with your regularly scheduled 1099/W-2/ACA blogs on Wednesday, and if you have any questions in the meantime, just give us a shout! The ExpressIRSForms team is available (and can answer your extension questions as well!) to assist you live Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. EST by phone (704-839-2270) and live chat. We’re also available - although a little less “instant” - 24/7 at support@expressirsforms.com.

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