GREENSBORO, N.C. — Midnight is the deadline for filing your taxes online. At this point, you may be thinking, 'I just need to file an extension'. You can, and you won't be alone. The IRS expects about 19 million taxpayers to file an extension. But don't miss the major misconception about filing an extension.
"An extension is an extension to file not an extension to pay. you don't have all your documents, changed addresses and they haven't sent you something, that's a great use of an extension," said Ryan Dodson of Stanaland, Dodson & Associates, Certified Public Accountants.
But if you're filing an extension simply because you owe taxes, that's not a great use of an extension because you must still pay your taxes owed by April 15, 2024. The extension is really for documents, not payments.
If you owe taxes, whether you file for an extension or not, you have two options. You either pay in full or set up a payment plan with the IRS.
You can pay directly out of your bank account, online, or by credit card, but if you don't pay in full, it will cost you even more.
"you can set up a payment agreement with the IRS, but there are penalties and fees associated with that. you do owe the interest for the installment agreement," said JW Degance, Jackson Hewitt.
The IRS lays out the options for plans and all the costs including the cost to set it up, which depending on what plan you pick, could be a couple hundred bucks.