Here at Proctor & Assocs., one of our goals is to help educate our clients about financial literacy and the tax process. While we hope to help you avoid a late tax filing if at all possible, we also want you to know what to expect if you do find yourself in that position. In this article, we’ll cover the basics of what you need to know about late tax filing.
- Late Filing Incurs Penalties- The first thing you need to know about late tax filing is that it incurs penalties. For each month that you are late in filing, you’ll be charged interest of up to 5% on the amount you owe. This means that the amount you owe will grow quickly and become harder to pay off the longer you wait. For example, if you owe $2,000 and are three months late in your payment, you’ll have to pay an additional fee of $300.
- You Can File for an Extension- We at Proctor & Assocs. also want you to know that you can file for a tax extension if you know that you’re not going to be able to file on time. If you file for an extension before April 15th, you’ll instead have until October 15th to file your tax forms, and you will not incur the fines associated with late tax filing. However, this does not give you more time to pay the taxes themselves, as your payments are still due by the April deadline.
- Consequences May Change if You Have a Tax Refund- Lastly, we want you to know that your situation with late tax filing can change depending on whether you will be getting a federal tax refund. If you do have a federal tax refund, then there is no penalty for not filing by the deadline, even if you don’t have an extension. However, this may not hold true for your state taxes–the state of North Carolina, for example, still charges an additional 5% per month late.