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Reminder: October Individual Tax Filing Extension Due Date Coming Soon

Reminder: October Individual Tax Filing Extension Due Date Coming Soon

If you are one of the millions of Americans who looked at the April tax filing deadline, knew you could never have the paperwork done on time, and asked the IRS for an extension, the clock is winding down to when that extension is due. The expiration for the late filing is October 16th of this year, and if you don’t get the paperwork done by then you are running a very real risk of being charged penalties for late filing.

What happens if you’re still not ready and your return is not going to be in by the extension deadline?

Unless you live in a FEMA designated disaster area, you’ve pretty much run out of extensions. If you’re still gathering documents or simply haven’t done the work that needs to be done to get the return filed in time, your best bet is to contact a tax professional so they can advise you as to next steps or help you to get it completed.

Of course, there are many different reasons for delaying a return. In some cases, it’s a matter of waiting on paperwork from somebody else. Organizations have a responsibility to get their K-1s into the hands of their stakeholders, so if a partnership or S-corporation is keeping you waiting on a K-1 past September 15th or a fiduciary return past September 30th, then they’re shirked their responsibility and you need to call and demand that they get you the information that you need.

What’s Being Late Going to Cost You?

If you go past the extension deadline and find yourself facing a penalty, prepare yourself for some financial pain. Federal returns that arrive late pay fees of 5% of the taxes that should have been paid for every month or portion of a month when it was not in the IRS’ hands. The maximum that you can be on the hook for is 25% of the total taxes owed.  Since the October 16th date also applies to most state taxes, it’s likely that if you’re not ready with your federal taxes then you’re also late on your state return, and that could mean an additional penalty. On top of the fees, the government also charges interest on monies that it is owed, at an annual rate of 4 percent.

October 16, 2017 is the Deadline for Several Actions

You should have October 16th circled on your calendar for more reasons than the tax filing extension deadline. It’s also the deadline for re-characterizing a 2016 traditional IRA into a Roth IRA, so if you are sorry that you converted from one to the other because of the taxes you face or a drop in value, you only have until October 16th to undo your action. To do so you will need to transfer the amount you converted along with any earnings or losses accrued via a trustee to trustee transfer. Assuming that you got your 2016 tax return in on time, you’ll also need to make sure that you let the IRS know of the change by filing an amended return.

Another important action with an October 16th deadline is the electronic filing of a FinCEN Form (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) and a FBAR (Form 114 Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) for taxpayers whose foreign financial accounts have an aggregate value that exceeded $10,000 at any point during the 2016 tax year. October 16th reflects and automatic extension that was granted on the original April 18th deadline.

FEMA-DESIGNATED DISASTER EXTENSION

If you live in an area that FEMA designated as a disaster area, there has been an extension granted for the filing of a number of IRS forms. This includes the extension for filing individual 1040 returns, which has moved from October 16th, 2017 to January 31, 2018.

Extensions on tax deadlines provide breathing room for those facing challenges or who have procrastinated, but the new filing deadline can creep up unexpectedly quickly.

Karen Drescher, CPA writes for TaxBuzz, a tax news and advice website. Reach her at [email protected].

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Karen C. Drescher, CPA, CGMA

Karen C. Drescher, CPA, CGMA

Whether it is helping a individual or a Georgia small business with their taxes, or offering to be a backstop through their difficulties, Karen is always there for her clients. When you are a client of Karen's, she always tries to make you feel comfortable in a casual and friendly environment.

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