It’s possible that you were so busy at work this spring that you put off doing your tax return.
Another reason you might have delayed filing is that you believe you’ll need to send the IRS a check and you know you can’t afford a sizable tax payment.
IRS Penalties For Late Tax Return Filing
It’s likely that filing your tax return late will have an adverse financial impact. The IRS will fine you if you file your taxes late and owe money, which is the sole difference.
You will be punishing yourself if you are late and owe money.
When you file a return after the deadline and the IRS still owes you money because you underpaid your taxes, the organization may punish you severely.
For each full or partial month your return is late, the IRS will charge you a failure-to-file penalty of up to 25% of the tax debt you owe.
Let’s imagine you owe the IRS $2,000 from 2022 and your tax return is two months overdue. You could be looking at a $200 penalty in addition to interest on your overdue tax debt.
If you are due a refund, the IRS won’t punish you for filing your tax return late.
Read more: Where’s My Tax Refund? Here’s How To Track Your Delayed Refund!
Delayed Refunds Mean Longer Use Of Your Money
After all, the IRS gets to keep your money longer without having to pay you interest the later you request a refund. That is a decent offer.
You should be aware that you have three years from the return’s due date to file it and ask for a corresponding reimbursement.
Since April 2026 is three years after the April 2023 deadline, you have until that date to file your 2022 tax returns with the IRS.
Imagine that despite the fact that there are no penalties involved, you keep putting off filing your tax returns because you don’t want to deal with it.
Read more: IRS Announcement: NIL Collectives Excluded From Tax Exempt Category