What Happens if I Submit My Tax Return a Month Late?

It's a move that could cost you if you owe the IRS money.

Taxes are due this year on April 18, which is three days past the typical filing deadline. But you may be running into a time crunch for various reasons.

Maybe some of your tax forms were delayed this year. Or maybe you're experiencing a family emergency right now, and it's impeding your ability to finish your taxes by mid-April.

You might assume that being a month late with your tax return isn't such a big deal. But actually, the consequences of filing a month late could be pretty severe, depending on your situation.

When you owe the IRS money and you don't file on time

The IRS will not penalize you for being late with a tax return if you're owed a refund. The logic there is that the longer it takes you to file your tax return, the longer the IRS gets to hang onto your money, as opposed to depositing it into your checking account. So the agency isn't going to further penalize you for taking more time.

It's when you owe the IRS money that penalties can come into play for being late with a tax return. First off, if you're late with that return, you'll face a failure to file penalty equal to 5% of your unpaid tax bill for each month or partial month you're past the April 18 deadline, up to 25% in total.

So, let's say you owe the IRS $5,000 from 2022. And let's also assume you're exactly one month late submitting your tax return. That means you'll be penalized 5% of $5,000, or $250. That's a lot of money to give up.

What’s more, if you're late paying your tax bill, you'll face a late payment penalty. That penalty is only 0.5% of the sum you owe per month or partial month you're late, up to 25% of your unpaid tax bill. So in this example, you'd be looking at a $25 penalty for paying your $5,000 tax bill a month late (as well as interest on that sum).

Now, that $25 by itself may not be such a big deal. But when you add it to $250, it's a lot of money lost.

Ask for more time if you need it

If you have reason to believe you underpaid your taxes in 2022 and you don't think you'll be done filing your return by April 18, request an extension. The IRS won't require you to come up with a good reason for needing more time. Rather, you'll get six extra months automatically if you get your extension request filed by April 18.

Keep in mind, though, that an extension will only give you more time to file your tax return without being penalized. It will not give you more time to pay your tax bill. So in this situation, what you may want to do is estimate your tax payment and send that money to the IRS by April 18. Doing so might help minimize unwanted late payment penalties -- even if those penalties aren't so severe to begin with.