IRS Issues Alert for Americans Who Missed April 18 Tax Day Deadline

Blank U.S. Treasury checks run through a printer at the U.S. Treasury facility in Philadelphia, Pa. William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a post-Tax Day notice for those who missed the April 18 deadline to file their taxes and urged Americans who didn’t to do so quickly.

“Taxpayers who owe and missed the deadline without requesting an extension should file quickly to limit penalties and interest,” the agency said in an April 19 release, noting that taxpayers who are slated to get a refund “don’t receive a penalty for filing late.” It added: “People shouldn’t overlook filing a tax return. Every year, more than 1 million taxpayers overlook a tax refund; the IRS reminds those who didn’t file in 2019 that time is running out to get any refund owed to them.”

A number of Americans qualify for extra time automatically and don’t have to pay penalties or interest. They include people who suffered certain natural disasters in recent months, members of the military who are in a combat zone or who are support personnel in combat zones, and some U.S. citizens and permanent residents who live outside the United States.

Regarding natural disasters, some residents in areas hit by severe storms—including Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi—have new deadlines to file their federal taxes. Taxpayers in some areas in California, Alabama, Georgia, and New York may also qualify.

“Taxpayers who choose not to file a return because they don’t earn enough to meet the filing requirement may miss out on receiving a refund due to potential refundable tax credits,” the agency said. “The most common examples of these refundable credits are the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. Taxpayers often fail to file a tax return and claim a refund for these credits and others for which they may be eligible.”

It also noted that taxpayers should “file their tax return and pay any taxes they owe as soon as possible” and said that an “extension to file is not an extension to pay.”

If you missed the tax deadline and you didn’t file for an extension, there are several penalties that you might receive. If you missed the deadline you might receive a failure-to-file penalty. This penalty will be 5 percent of the unpaid taxes for each month the tax return is late, according to the IRS.

If you owe taxes and you didn’t pay them prior to the tax deadline, you will receive a failure-to-pay penalty. Interest will also be charged on both taxes and penalties owed.

If you are due for a refund, you will not receive a penalty and you will receive your tax return payment.

If you had special circumstances that meant you were unable to file or pay your taxes on time, you might be able to remove or reduce your penalty. If the amount of taxes you owe becomes too large, you can apply for a payment plan. Payment plans will allow you to pay off over time.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington on Feb. 19, 2014. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Five months after tax day and a taxpayer hasn’t paid means that their failure to file penalty will “max out” but the separate failure to pay penalty will continue to 25 percent, the agency says. “If both a Failure to File and a Failure to Pay Penalty are applied in the same month, the Failure to File Penalty is reduced by the amount of the Failure to Pay Penalty for that month, for a combined penalty of 5 percent for each month or part of a month that your return was late,” it said.

“If your return was over 60 days late, the minimum Failure to File Penalty is $435 (for tax returns required to be filed in 2020, 2021 and 2022) or 100 percent of the tax required to be shown on the return, whichever is less,” the agency warns.

The tax agency recommends that if a taxpayer cannot afford to pay the full amount of taxes owed to the federal government, they should try to file a return to reduce the late-filing penalty.

A variety of options for people who owe the IRS and can’t afford to pay are available on the agency’s website. Meanwhile, taxpayers may qualify for penalty relief if they have filed and paid timely for the past three tax years and met other requirements.

On the IRS’s website, it does not mention whether those who file their taxes late may be subject to a higher chance of being audited.

“Generally, the IRS can include returns filed within the last three years in an audit. If we identify a substantial error, we may add additional years. We usually don’t go back more than the last six years,” the IRS audit page says. “The IRS tries to audit tax returns as soon as possible after they are filed. Accordingly most audits will be of returns filed within the last two years.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.