late payment of 2019 taxes with extension to 10/15/20 filed

[JBMAS]

I seem to have conflicting information. I have filed for an extension on my 2019 federal income taxes until 10/15/20. One response indicated that I would have to pay a 5% penalty for late filing plus .5% interest no matter if I paid them July 16 or July 31. I plan on being able to pay them on July 22, 2020. The following is a cut and paste from Turbo Tax help.

• Interest (compounded daily) starts accumulating on unpaid taxes one day after the due date of the return, until the bill is fully paid off. The current interest rate is 5% (3% on top of the federal short-term rate of 2%) and is subject to change.

Example: Let's say you didn't file your return by the July 15 deadline and you owe the IRS an additional $1,000.

Scenario 1: You file an extension on or before July 15 and pay your $1,000 bill on July 25 (10 days late). Your penalty would be $5 (the 0.5% late-payment penalty applied to $1,000), plus another dollar or so for the interest.

I will appreciate anyone's help in reconciling these differences.

[SusanY1 · Accepted solution]

The IRS has two types of "late" penalties.  The higher penalty applies for filing your return late.  If you have filed an extension, or if you file your return on July 15th but simply delay paying the tax, then you will not be subject to the 5% late filing penalty. 

In addition to the late filing penalty, there is a late payment penalty that applies to any payment made after the due date, even if the tax return is extended.  Here, I am referring to the typical October 15th extension and not this year's extension to July 15th.   

As long as you either file your 2019 return or your extension on or before July 15, 2020 you will only be subject to the lesser penalty, the late payment penalty, of about $5 plus the interest.