@phildonnia wrote:
I always pay everything at the website. I get a confirmation number, and an emailed receipt, and I never have to wonder whether the IRS received it, or on what day.
Other than that, I e-file what I can, and mail in when that's required. But the payment is made, even if everything else accidentally falls off a mail truck or gets lost in a box at the IRS.
If you have a completed tax return that shows what you owe:
1. Pay the tax now online, get your receipt. Make sure you select 2019 as the reason.
2. E-file the return if you can, select "I will pay by mail" in Turbotax so it won't ask for more payment.
3. If you can't e-file, print your return and file by mail. Go to the post office and use priority mail with tracking and delivery confirmation. Keep those receipts.
If e-filing, there is almost never any paperwork to mail afterward. There are only 12 specific types of paperwork that you can mail to the IRS after e-filing, they are listed on form 8453, which is a cover sheet for paper documents that must be mailed after e-filing. If you have one of these situations, Turbotax will remind you to print the form. If you need to mail any other documents or statements that are not listed on form 8453, you must print and mail your entire return.
- The late filing penalty is 5% of the amount you owe, per month or partial month. So the penalty is the same whether you file on 7/16 or 8/14.
- The late payment penalty is 0.5% per month of the amount you owe, except it is not charged for any month where you also have a 5% late filing penalty.
- Interest is a variable rate, about 1/3% per month right now.
If this is the first time you have owed a penalty, you can request a one-time abatement (forgiveness) once the IRS has sent you the bill. (But by law, the interest can't be waived, only the penalty.)
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/penalty-relief-due-to-first-time-penal...
