File a Tax Extension Online

Your ways to file a tax extension online

How e-filing Form 4868 works

E-filing sends the same Form 4868 to the IRS electronically. The provider fills the form from your answers, transmits it, and you receive an electronic acknowledgment once the transaction is complete. Keep the acknowledgment with your records.

What you'll be asked for:

• Names, address and Social Security numbers, exactly as they'll be on your return.
• Information from last year's return, to verify your identity.
• Your estimate of total tax, what you've paid, and what you're paying now.

An e-filed extension is on time if it's sent by the due date in your own time zone. If you e-file Form 4868, don't also mail a paper one, unless you're mailing a check or money order with it.

E-file Form 4868 free with IRS Free File

IRS Free File covers Form 4868 at no cost, through guided software or Free File Fillable Forms, and the IRS says there's no income limit for extensions. Start at IRS.gov so you land on the free version. Free File for the 2027 season opens in January 2027. How to use IRS Free File for an extension.

E-file with a guided service

If you'd like to be walked through it, with support if something goes wrong, an e-file service does the form for you. Our partner TaxExtension.com e-files Form 4868 with a guided flow, and you get the IRS acknowledgment when it's accepted. E-file with TaxExtension.com (opens in a new tab)

If you choose to e-file, you'll go to our partner TaxExtension.com. We may receive compensation from that partner.

Get the extension online by paying

If you owe tax, a payment can be the whole extension. Pay with IRS Direct Pay, your IRS online account, EFTPS, or a debit or credit card, and choose extension as the reason. In Direct Pay, the reason is "Extension," and the payment applies to Form 4868 for the year you're extending. The IRS processes the extension automatically, and you get a confirmation number. How to get an extension by paying.

Fill it out online and mail it

Our free tool is the online way to do the paper route. It fills in the IRS PDF in your browser from plain-English answers and shows the exact mailing address for your state, with or without a payment. Nothing you type leaves your browser, and your Social Security number is never saved, even in your browser's storage.

Fiscal-year filers can't e-file

If your tax year isn't the calendar year, the IRS says you must file a paper Form 4868, by the due date of your fiscal-year return. Our tool handles fiscal years.

When e-filing is worth it

• The deadline is days away. No trip to the post office, and no worry about the postmark.
• You want proof right away. The IRS doesn't confirm paper extensions; it writes only if your request is denied. An e-file acknowledgment is proof you can keep.
• You want help. A guided service checks your entries and has support.

If none of those apply, mailing a paper Form 4868 works just as well, and it's free.

Step by step: e-file Form 4868

1. Pick a provider: IRS Free File (start at IRS.gov), your tax software, your tax professional, or an e-file service.
2. Choose the extension, not a full return. Look for "extension" or "Form 4868."
3. Enter who's filing and your names, address and Social Security numbers.
4. Verify your identity with information from last year's return.
5. Enter your estimate: total tax, payments so far, and any amount you're paying now.
6. Submit, then save the acknowledgment when it comes.
7. Pay any balance by April 15, 2027, ideally online.

Questions people ask

Can I file a tax extension online with the IRS directly?

Not as a form on IRS.gov. Form 4868 is e-filed through IRS Free File, tax software, a tax professional or an e-file service. What you can do directly with the IRS online is pay and mark the payment as an extension, which counts as the extension.

How do I know my online extension went through?

You'll get an electronic acknowledgment once the transaction is complete. Keep it. If you paid as your extension, keep the payment confirmation number instead.

Can I e-file an extension after April 15?

Not for the regular deadline. Form 4868 must be filed by April 15, 2027. If you're out of the country, or a 1040-NR filer without U.S. wages, your date is June 15, 2027.

Can I e-file the extension and mail a check?

Yes. Then you also mail Form 4868 with the check, to the payment address. That's the one case where you both e-file and mail, according to the form. Paying online is simpler.

Do I need my AGI from last year?

Have last year's return with you. E-filing asks for information from it to verify your identity.

Common mistakes

• Names or SSNs that don't match the return. Enter them exactly as they'll appear on your return.
• Not having last year's return. E-filing uses it to verify you.
• Filing twice. E-file or pay as your extension, or mail it. One is enough.
• Thinking e-filing extends the time to pay. It doesn't. Pay by April 15, 2027.