Although many people consider the April 15 deadline for filing their personal tax return as non-negotiable, in reality getting an extension is an easy and painless process that is available to all American taxpayers. Almost anyone is allowed to file a Form 4868, which will grant them a four to six month extension of their tax filing deadline. However, it is important to note that an extension to file does not amount to an extension to pay any taxes due, so if you suspect that you will owe taxes you will be charged interest on any amounts due for the duration of your extension time.

One popular myth surrounding filing for an extension is that in order to do so you have to have a good reason. In reality this is not the case at all. The Form 4868 is a very simple form that asks for nine pieces of information. The only effect that your reason for filing for an extension has is if you tick the box for Line 8. Line 8 asks if you are a U.S. citizen or resident that is currently outside of the United States. If you tick this box, the length of your extension goes down from six months to four months. Otherwise the form does not ask for any further information regarding your reason for filing an extension and the instructions do not place any other reason based restrictions on extensions.

Generally speaking all you have to do is fill out Form 4868 and file it. Although you can file a paper version through the mail, it is usually a better idea to file your 4868 electronically, because then you will get a confirmation that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) received your filing and, in some cases, a specific confirmation number to verify this. There have been some instances when a Form 4868 has been properly filed and is then misplaced by the IRS, putting the burden of proof on the taxpayer. Therefore it is always a good idea to receive and save acknowledgement of receipt or your confirmation number.

If you suspect that you will owe money and want to avoid having to pay most (or all) of the interest that will accrue during your extension, the Form 4868 also allows you to send in a check for any amount you think is appropriate. The amount sent in will be credited to your tax liability, so interest will only accrue on any amount owed in excess of that covered by your check. Again, you should be careful to document everything and record precisely how much you sent to the IRS just in case there is a processing error. You can also pay forward money that you think you owe via electronic funds transfer, credit card or debit card. The exact instructions in this respect are provided in the instructions for Form 4868.

Filing an extension is a quick and easy process and is available to virtually all filers, even those that have to file paper returns for whatever reason. As a consequence, there really is no justifiable reason for anyone to be late fling their annual tax return. In fact, this may well be why the IRS has a zero tolerance for late filers and automatically charges them with penalties.

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