Last-Minute Tax Extension: How to File Today

Your fastest options, in order

1. Pay online and mark it as an extension (if you owe). IRS Direct Pay or your IRS online account, reason "Extension." You get a confirmation number in minutes and need no form. How.
2. E-file Form 4868. Through IRS Free File, software, a tax pro or an e-file service. It's on time if it's sent by the due date in your time zone, and you get an electronic acknowledgment. Have last year's return handy for identity verification.
3. Mail a paper Form 4868. Fill it out here in about 10 minutes, print it, and get it postmarked by the due date. Ask the post office counter for a postmark or use Certified Mail for a dated receipt.

Short on time and want help? Our partner TaxExtension.com e-files Form 4868 with a guided flow. 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.

Is it too late to file a tax extension?

Not until the end of the due date. After that, yes: Form 4868 has to be filed by the original due date, and the IRS denies a late one. The only people with a later date are U.S. citizens and residents out of the country and Form 1040-NR filers without U.S. wages, whose date is June 15, 2027. People in a federally declared disaster area may also have more time; check IRS disaster relief.

If you missed it

• File the return as soon as you can. The late-filing penalty grows each month, up to 25%.
• Pay as much as you can now. It limits the late-payment penalty and interest.
• Had a good reason? Explain it in a statement with your return. The IRS can remove penalties for reasonable cause.

Deadline-day tips

• A reasonable estimate is enough. Use last year's return and the forms you have.
• Don't file twice. One extension, by one route.
• Payment addresses are P.O. boxes, so use the U.S. Postal Service, not a courier.
• Save your proof: confirmation number, acknowledgment or mailing receipt.

Questions people ask

Does the post office postmark count if I mail it at night?

The date on the postmark is what counts. A form dropped in a box after the last pickup may get the next day's postmark, so mail it at a counter or before the last pickup.

What time zone counts for e-filing?

Your own. The IRS goes by the date and time in your time zone when the form is sent.

Can I file the extension on April 15 and pay later?

Yes, but interest and the late-payment penalty start after April 15, 2027.