Income tax filing extension can delay inevitable for 6 months

Stephen Huba
Monday, April 15, 2019 11:52 a.m. | Monday, April 15, 2019 11:52 a.m.

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AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

Can’t file your income tax return by Monday’s deadline? Applying for an extension is not that hard.

But bear in mind, that the extension is for the time needed to file a return, not to delay the paying of any tax that is owed. Paying the tax without the requisite return will require estimating the amount owed.

Applying for an extension is as simple as filing a Form 4868 either electronically or by mail, according to the IRS. Residents of Maine and Massachusetts have until Wednesday to file the form.

The extension, if approved, is good through Oct. 15.

Taxpayers who are out of the country on the regular due date, April 15, automatically get a two-month extension and do not have to file a Form 4868, according to the IRS.