Filing an extension is super easy. By
filing an extension, the IRS will give you an extra six months to file your tax return without penalty. The normal deadline to file your return is April 15, 2009. With an extension, your deadline to file a tax return will be October 15, 2009. However, an extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. That means, if you owe, you should pay the IRS by the April 15th deadline to avoid any
tax penalties and interest.
Speed: 1 minute. Cost: 42 cents (for postage). You can file an extension quickly and painlessly by using IRS Form 4868. Simply fill in your name and SSN, and mail it to the IRS. That's it, really. Here's links to
Form 4868 (pdf) and the
mailing addresses.
Do you need to fill out Lines 4 to 6 of Form 4868? This is where you report your estimated tax liability, payments made, and an estimate of your balance due. If you don't have an estimate of your tax bill, just leave those fields blank. On line 7 indicate the amount you are paying, or put zero is you aren't sending in a payment. Be sure to mail this before the post office closes on April 15. If the post office has already closed, use one of the online services (below).
Speed: 4 minutes. Cost: free. Click "File your free tax extension now" link on their home page. TaxACT provided a very straightforward experience. Simply create a username, enter your personal information, and the Web site walks you through the e-filing process. A nice touch: TaxACT has the ability to send you a text message to notify you when the IRS has processed your extension. (I didn't try that feature, because I don't like giving out my number.) TaxACT will let you set up a direct withdrawal from your checking or savings account to pay you estimated tax liability. If you want to pay by credit, TaxACT directs you to use the Pay1040 Web site.
Speed: 4 minutes. Cost: free. Click "Start Easy Extension" from TurboTax's extension page. This year, TurboTax has produced a slick and easy to use extension program. Register for the site, input your information, and TurboTax guides you through the steps. There's even an option to open TaxCaster, a tax estimating utility, in a new browser window. This can help you get a rough idea of how much you might owe. Allows you to pay your tax using a direct withdrawal from your bank account.
Speed: 3 minutes not including the payment section. Cost: $17.95 for personal tax extensions; $39.95 for business tax extensions. Like TurboTax and TaxCut, the FileLater service gives you the option of using an estimator to figure out how much tax you might owe. FileLater also supports the filing of extensions for business tax returns for corporations, partnerships, estates and trusts.
Speed: 5 minutes, not including the payment section of the process. Cost: $19.95. Click "File Extension Today" from the "Online" menu on their home page. H&R Block's TaxCut gave me two options for completing my extension. I could do a quick extension using a minimum of information; this is designed to file the extension fast. The second option is to use TaxCut's estimator utility to get a rough idea of how much you might owe. (Using the estimator will add time to the process. Be sure to click on the detailed estimator results, you'll need to input some of that data for the extension program.)
Speed: 6 minutes not including the payment section of the process. Cost: $9.95. Select "Prepare an extension" link under the "My Account Dashboard" after you log in. CompleteTax gathers information necessary to file your extension, but does not provide an estimating utility like those found in TurboTax, TaxCut, and FileLater.
