Businesses That File A Tax Extension Get 5-6 Months

IRS Tax Extension Form Grants More Time, But Payments Must Still Be Made Upfront

Like individuals, businesses are also permitted to file a tax extension. The rules and deadlines, however, depend on the type of business you run. Sole proprietorships, corporations and s-corporations have the same six-month extension as individual filers. Partnerships, however, are allowed five months. Both types of extension forms are automatically approved by the IRS.

The IRS tax extension form required to grant businesses an extension also varies. The two listed below are among the most common:

• Form 7004, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns, will prove useful for many companies. Use this form if your business is a corporation, s-corporation, partnership or multiple-member LLC filing as a partnership.
• Form 4868, Application For Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Tax Return, is the correct form if you are a sole proprietor or single-member LLC.

Although the IRS tax extension form you use may differ from that of your personal return, the government still expects businesses to pay their owed taxes by the appropriate due date - March 15th for corporations and April 17th for other types of organizations such as a partnership. The form you complete will ask you to estimate the taxes owed and make a payment by the deadline. If you do not file a tax extension, you can expect penalties and interest charges to begin accumulating.

Other extension articles:

Overview of an extension

How to file an extension and extension deadlines

State Tax Extension Forms & Deadlines

Filing an extension if out of the United States

Extension filing options

Who enforces state extension rules

Use CompleteTax to file an extension