Today is Tax Day and if you haven't filed your 2023 returns yet, you may face costly penalties immediately after the April 15 deadline.
Taxpayers who file their tax returns electronically have until midnight on Tax Day to file. Paper returns must be postmarked by April 15 to not be marked as late.
Despite the IRS expecting to process more than 146 million individual tax returns this filing season, the agency will still notice if you fail to file your returns on time, so here's what may happen if you don't file or pay your taxes on time.
What happens if you don’t file a tax return?
If you fail to file your taxes by April 15 and do not request an extension, the IRS may assess a failure-to-file penalty on the amount of any unpaid taxes.
Thepenalty for failing to fileis 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month your return is late, with a maximum of 25% of the total balance due.
The agency may also assess a failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% per month. Similarly to the failure-to-file penalty, the failure-to-pay penalty is capped at 25% of the total balance due.
If both penalties are imposed on your late return, the IRS will reduce one by .5%. For example: Instead of a 5% failure-to-file penalty, you would be charged a 4.5% failure-to-file penalty and a 0.5% failure-to-pay penalty.
The combined maximum for both penalties would be 47.5% (25% late payment and 22.5% late filing) of the tax due.
If your tax return is more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty for missing the deadline is currently $485 or the entire amount of tax owed, whichever is less.
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Are there any other penalties?
If you don't pay your taxes within a few months after the April 15 deadline, the IRS may send you letters indicating how much you owe.
The IRS may then send you collection notices or phone calls and eventually issue a Notice of Intent to Levy indicating some of your assets may be seized to cover the amount due. This could include your home, car, bank accounts or a portion of your paycheck.
What if you don't file taxes but don't owe anything?
Suppose you expect to not owe taxes this tax season. In that case, the IRS generally will not impose any penalties on your return — but not filing may limit your ability to claim any tax deductions or credits you may be entitled to, which in turn might make you owe taxes.
How to request a tax filing extension
If you need more time to file your taxes, you can use the IRS Free File tool or other tax-filing software to file Form 4868, to request a tax-filing extension until Oct. 15, 2024.
You can also make anelectronic paymenton your taxes and select "extension" to request a change of deadline.
The IRS has also allowed residents within certain areas of these states to file their federal taxes byJune 17, 2024:
- California
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Michigan
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Washington
- West Virginia
How can I track my refund?
According to recent IRS statistics, as of March 22, the average tax refund was $3,081 and most were issued in less than 21 days.
You can track your refund using the IRS' "Where's my Refund?" tool. You must have your SSN or ITIN number, filing status and exact refund amount on your return to use this tool.
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Direct File is a new filing tool by the IRS that allows taxpayers of any income to file their taxes for free.
FAQs
The Failure to File penalty is 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that a tax return is late.
What happens if you don't file by Tax Day? ›
The penalty for failing to file a tax return is 5% of the unpaid tax per month, plus interest, with a maximum penalty of 25% of the unpaid tax.
Can I file my taxes after the deadline? ›
There's no penalty for filing after the April 15 deadline if a refund is due. However, taxpayers due a refund should still consider filing as soon as possible.
Can I still file my taxes after April 15th? ›
Can I file electronically after April 15? Yes, electronically filed tax returns are accepted until November. The specific cutoff date in November is typically announced in October in the QuickAlerts Library.
What happens if I file my taxes late and I am due a refund? ›
There is no penalty for failure to file if you are due a refund. However, you cannot obtain a refund without filing a tax return. If you wait too long to file, you may risk losing the refund altogether.
What happens if you don't file taxes right away? ›
If you fail to file your taxes by April 15 and do not request an extension, the IRS may assess a failure-to-file penalty on the amount of any unpaid taxes. The penalty for failing to file is 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month your return is late, with a maximum of 25% of the total balance due.
How long can a person go without filing their taxes? ›
Additionally, you have to consider the state you live in. For example, if you live in California, they have a legal right to collect state taxes up to 20 years after the date of the assessment!
How late can you wait to file taxes? ›
You will have 90 days to file your past due tax return or file a petition in Tax Court. If you do neither, we will proceed with our proposed assessment.
What happens if you don't file your taxes but don't owe anything? ›
There's no penalty for failure to file if you're due a refund. However, you risk losing a refund altogether if you file a return or otherwise claim a refund after the statute of limitations has expired.
How late can I file my taxes in 2024? ›
Tax Day was Monday, April 15, 2024, but some exceptions exist. If you requested an extension by April 15, your new deadline to file is Oct. 15, 2024.
There's no penalty for filing after the April 18 deadline if a refund is due. Taxpayers are encouraged to use electronic filing options including IRS Free File which is available on IRS.gov through Oct. 16 to prepare and file 2022 tax returns electronically. Taxpayers can track their refund using the Where's My Refund?
What is the fee for a late tax return? ›
The failure-to-file penalty is usually five percent of the tax owed for each month, or part of a month that your return is late, up to a maximum of 25%.
Can you skip a year on filing taxes? ›
It's illegal. The law requires you to file every year that you have a filing requirement. The government can hit you with civil and even criminal penalties for failing to file your return.
What happens if I file taxes one day late? ›
If you missed the filing deadline, didn't file for an extension, and owe income taxes, you may face a late filing penalty of 5% of the unpaid tax per month, plus interest.
What to do if you missed the tax deadline? ›
If You Owe, Pay as Much as You Can To Reduce Penalties
Even if you miss the tax deadline, you should pay as much as possible as soon as you can. Taking this step can reduce any interest or penalties on your tax account, such as the failure-to-file penalty or the failure-to-pay penalty.
How to get $10 000 tax refund? ›
How do I get a 10,000 tax refund? You could end up with a $10,000 tax refund if you've paid significantly more tax payments than you owe at the end of the year.
What happens if I skip a year of filing taxes? ›
The IRS may charge you penalties and interest for each month you go without filing and paying the taxes due. Additionally, if you don't file a return within three years of the due date, you may forfeit any refund you're owed.
What is the penalty for filing income tax late? ›
An ITR filed after the last date is called a belated ITR. The Income Tax Act, 1961's Section 234F imposes a penalty of up to Rs 5,000 for late ITR filing. If the taxable income does not surpass Rs 5 lakh, the penalty amount for small taxpayers is limited to Rs 1,000.
Do you have to file your taxes by a certain day? ›
The due date for filing your tax return is typically April 15 if you're a calendar year filer. Generally, most individuals are calendar year filers. For individuals, the last day to file your 2023 taxes without an extension is April 15, 2024, unless extended because of a state holiday.
What if I forgot to report income on my tax return? ›
Often, the IRS will recalculate your tax return by including the missing income and determining the amount of tax they think that you owe. This can include penalties and interest. If you realize that you didn't include some income on your tax return, you can file an amended return that includes the missing information.
