The IRS grace period is almost over: This is the final deadline to file your taxes if you’re part of this group

Across the United States taxpayers rushed to get their filings submitted ahead of the April 15 deadline set by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The deadline has now long passed but there is one group that still has a little longer to get their submission done and avoid late fees. US citizens and resident aliens who are currently out of the country have an additional two-month grace period, giving them until June 16 to get their filing in.

IRS rules dictate that all US taxpayers, even those currently living and working overseas, must report their total income to the IRS. They are given a bit of extra time to complete the filing but it is compulsory just as it is for those physically in the US.

The tax filing is not simply limited to salary; filers must also report interest and dividends too. Many members of the military on active duty will also have to submit their tax returns by the extended deadline.

If that June 16 date is coming a bit too soon for you, there is still the option of requesting an extension using Form 4868. However that extension does come with one very big condition.

The extension only applies to the filing deadline, not to the payment of any outstanding taxes. Even if you successfully claim an extension, any outstanding tax payments still need to be paid by June 16 or interest will start to accrue on the amount.

Richard D. Pomp, professor of law at the UConn Law School, explained to Newsweek that the overseas extension is a hangover form the pre-digital filing age: “The extension is a very old rule that predates the digital economy.”

“Correspondence in those early days took place by mail and the time it took for mail to go back and forth across the ocean could lead to delays that taxpayers living in the country did not experience. In the digital economy, things are far more efficient and the rule is probably unduly generous.”

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