What happens if you cannot get all your tax information you need to file your taxes or you need more time, but you are getting close to the due date, as we are getting now close to April 15th Tax Day?<\/p>\n
The worst thing you can do is to ignore the deadline and do nothing!<\/p>\n
This move could prove to be very expensive because the IRS and tax courts rarely excuse delays without extraordinary justification.<\/p>\n
It is essential that you file an extension AND make a payment with the extension, if needed.<\/p>\n
You need to try to estimate how much you owe and make the payment before April 15th.<\/p>\n
You can make the payment on the IRS website<\/a>. For an individual return, for the reason for payment choose “extension”, for tax form choose “4868” and for tax year choose “2024”.<\/span><\/p>\n What happens if, after filing an extension, you get to the extended due date, September 15th for your business or October 15th for your personal taxes and you still don’t have all your books and documents in order?<\/p>\n You need to file a return using estimated amounts, if needed and later amend and report the accurate amounts. And this is exactly what a recent tax court decision held. In Weston v. Commissioner<\/a> issued this February 12, 2025 the court referenced a 1982 decision that read:\u201d A taxpayer generally is required to file timely using the best information available and to later file an amended return if necessary\u201d.<\/p>\nExtension Still Not Enough<\/h3>\n
Compliance Is Non-Negotiable<\/h3>\n