FINANCE
IRS File for Tax Extension: how to apply and where to apply to IRS Form 7004
Tax filing extensions can be applied for your business but it doesn’t extend the period in which you need to pay said tax.
The deadline to submit a 2022 federal income tax return to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is Tuesday 18 April 2023. It is not only personal income tax that needs to be filed and paid for this day, businesses must also file corporation tax payments as well as a host of other company related filings too.
Like personal income tax, automatic filing extensions can be made with the IRS. This comes in the form 7004, which is used to request an automatic 6-month extension of time to file certain business income tax, information, and other returns. The full list of which aspects of business taxes’ filing period can be found on the form online.
Be warned, this is an extension to the filing period but not for paying the tax liability. An estimate for the amount of tax your business has to pay will still need to be made and paid by 18 April.
How and where to apply for IRS Form 7004
At this stage it is too late to send a posted Form 7004 to the IRS and it to arrive in time. Therefore, you will need to file the form as an modernised e-file.
You need to find an IRS approved provider from this list. You will need to choose the provider you feel is most appropriate for you company and location. The list of approved filing companies changes each year.
If you were attempting to send a paper form then the IRS has a list of offices to send the form to, depending on which aspects of your business’ filing period needs to be extended.
Another option for an extension
Individual tax filers, regardless of income, can use IRS Free File to electronically request an automatic tax-filing extension.
Filing this form gives you until 15 October to file a return. However, it’s worth noting that a filing extension isn’t a payment extension, so you need to estimate the tax you owe and pay this in full or in part by the original due date.