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2 replies

Level 15
September 17, 2025

Did you request an extension on or before April 15, 2025?   Did you make any estimated payments for the tax owed?

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
Cindy4 12
Employee Tax Expert
Employee Tax Expert
September 17, 2025

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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