How to: File late taxes

Kelsi L. McKenzie
The Advocate

The deadline to file a 2008 tax return has past, but there are options for people who have not completed their forms.

An automatic extension can be filed, giving the taxpayer until Oct. 15 to file the return. The six-month extension does not give extra time to pay the government, only to file, according to IRS.gov.

According to the web site in an article dated April 7, the IRS expects to receive 1.9 million extension requests electronically this year.

The “Automatic Extension of Time to File Form 4868” can be filled out online using e-file.

For taxpayers who filed on time but didn’t pay the balance or who haven’t filed or paid the balance due, there is generally a late-payment penalty of .5 percent of the tax owed for each month that the tax remains unpaid and/or a late-filing penalty of 4.5 percent, according to the H&R block website.

According to H&R block tax tips online, the late-filing penalty is generally imposed for a maximum of five months. However, the late payment penalty of .5 percent will continue to run up, to 25 percent, until the taxes are paid in full.

According to Robert Shaw of taxplus2.com, there is only a penalty for filing late taxes if the taxpayer owes money.

Shaw said in “Unclaimed Tax Refunds - Does the IRS Owe You Some Money?” article on ezinearticles.com, a person can file returns for the previous four tax years and still receive any unclaimed tax return.

According to the IRS web site, free tax filing software is available (including extensions) for most taxpayers to use at www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html.

For more information about filing an automatic extension or late-filing, late-payment penalties, visit www.irs.gov.