It is possible you could avoid the penalty by filing by mail, and mailing by January 31st. But I recommend against that, as the IRS is still backed up with processing things by mail.
Another possibility is that after you receive the penalty notice, respond to that notice describing the situation, and it is possible they would waive the penalty.
If the penalty is small (which is likely, especially if you pay it now), it might be easier to just pay the small penalty rather than deal with the hassle of things.
