Form 4868: Extending Your Individual Tax Return Deadline

Form 4868 is the Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. It extends your filing deadline by 6 months — from April 15 to October 15.

Who files Form 4868?

Anyone who needs more time to file:

• •Form 1040 (US citizens and residents)
• •Form 1040-NR (Nonresident aliens)
• •Form 1040-SR (Seniors)

How to file

Option 1 — Electronic. File through IRS Free File, your tax software, or a tax professional. This is the fastest and most reliable method.

Option 2 — Paper. Fill out Form 4868 and mail it to the IRS. Use UFF to generate the PDF.

Option 3 — Payment as extension. If you make an electronic tax payment by the original deadline, the IRS automatically treats it as an extension request. No separate form needed.

Key fields

• •Lines 1-3 — Personal information. Name, address, SSN.
• •Line 4 — Estimate of total tax liability. Your best estimate of what you'll owe.
• •Line 5 — Total payments. Withholding, estimated payments, and credits already applied.
• •Line 6 — Balance due. Line 4 minus Line 5.
• •Line 7 — Amount you're paying. Pay as much as you can to minimize interest.

The payment trap

Just like Form 7004, an extension to file is not an extension to pay. Your tax is due on April 15 regardless of the extension. If you don't pay enough by April 15:

• •Interest accrues from April 15 on the unpaid balance
• •Late payment penalty of 0.5% per month on the unpaid balance

However, the late filing penalty (5% per month, up to 25%) is avoided by filing the extension. This is why filing Form 4868 is always better than simply not filing.

For nonresident aliens

If you file Form 1040-NR and had no wages subject to US withholding, your original deadline is already June 15. Filing Form 4868 extends it to December 15.

Pro tip

Even if you think you'll owe nothing, file Form 4868 anyway. It's free insurance against the late filing penalty if it turns out you do owe.