Filing a tax return after the April 15th deadline can lead to a combination of penalties and interest, even if you filed for an extension. Since you have a balance due for both federal and state taxes, it's important to understand the two main penalties you might face.
Federal Penalties:
The IRS can impose two separate penalties that are often combined:
Failure-to-Pay Penalty: This is charged for not paying the tax you owe by the April 15th deadline.
Rate: 0.5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month the taxes remain unpaid.
Maximum: This penalty is capped at 25% of your unpaid tax.
Note: If you filed an extension, this penalty still applies from April 15th. An extension to file is not an extension to pay.
Failure-to-File Penalty: This is charged for not filing your return by the due date, including the extended deadline.
Rate: This is much more severe. It's 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month the return is late.
Note: This penalty is reduced by the failure-to-pay penalty for any month where both apply, so the combined rate is 5% per month. The failure-to-file penalty maxes out at 25% after five months.
Your Situation: Since you are filing on October 15th, which is the extended deadline, and if you filed an extension, you should not be charged the Failure-to-File penalty. However, you will be subject to the Failure-to-Pay penalty
State penalties and interest vary from state to state, but you can check on your state's department of revenue site for details.
Hope this helps!
Cindy
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