I've been at the office filing extensions for all my clients. What's an extension? It's asking the IRS for an extra six months to file your tax return. And the good thing, is that the IRS will grant your request automatically. The bad news, is that you do need to ask for the extra time. Just fill out Form 4868 (pdf, 4 pages) and mail it to the IRS. That's it.

Tax software programs will help you e-file your extension as well. Personally I prefer e-filing the extension, as opposed to mailing in the form. That's because, with e-file I get a confirmation code that the IRS received and approved my extension. You won't get a receipt or acknowledgment with a paper form.

Unfortunately, not all software programs will let you e-file your extensions. TurboTax, for example, will not e-file the extension form, but will print out the form so you can mail it in. Considering that filling out the form by hand takes about a minute or two, I fail to see how TurboTax adds value to this otherwise painless process. By contrast, both TaxACT and TaxCut allow users to e-file the extension form.

With an extension, you get extra time to file your 1040. You also get extra time to file a gift tax return or to fund a SEP-IRA. The extension does not give you extra time to pay any taxes you owe. Tax payments are still due by April 15th.