The article has been updated in April of 2026
No, you’re not going to a Federal prison. They’re overcrowded as is. However, missing this deadline can cost you money, sometimes a lot of money. Let’s see how it works.
There are 7 different IRS deadlines on April 15, not one!
- On April 15, you’re supposed to pay off the balance of your 2025 personal income taxes if you have not paid enough from your paychecks or from voluntary estimated payments. If you expect a refund – then you need not worry about this first of the seven deadlines. However, if you do owe the IRS and do not pay it in full by April 15, you will start accumulating penalties and interest.
. - On April 15, you’re supposed to file your 2025 personal tax return – Form 1040. This means sending paperwork to the IRS, whether you owe them or they owe you. Missing this deadline is technically breaking the law and can have consequences, depending on your line of work, your immigration status, and your standing with the IRS. For most people, however, the real problem with missing this second of the seven deadlines is that penalties for not paying the balance due increase literally tenfold and sometimes even more. Luckily, if you do not owe taxes for 2025 – then penalties is not your problem.
. - On April 15, you’re supposed to file your 2025 C-corporation tax return – Form 1120. Unfortunately, S-corporations and Partnerships were due March 15, so you probably missed that deadline already.
. - After April 15, you lose your rights to any potential refund from your 2022 tax return. Even though you (hopefully) filed your 2022 tax return long ago, you still have a tiny window of time to correct any errors on that tax return or add more deductions and credits. After April 15, it will be too late. If you have not filed your 2022 tax return yet (and I know quite a few people who have not) – then it is your last chance to claim a refund from 2022. The only possible exception is if you had filed a timely extension for 2022 – then you can procrastinate a little longer. Otherwise, April 15 is the last day to claim your 2022 tax money.
. - On April 15, you’re supposed to send the IRS your first estimated payment towards your future 2026 taxes. People who most likely need to pay attention are Realtors, consultants, contractors, rehabbers, flippers, builders and wholesalers – anybody who does not have taxes taken out of their paychecks. Of course, this is assuming that your business will be profitable in 2026. Missing this payment deadline will trigger another IRS penalty, albeit a relatively moderate one.
. - April 15 is the last day to make 2025 contributions to your retirement accounts: IRAs, Roth IRAs, and most other variations. Not only these contributions boost your retirement savings, but they may reduce the amount of taxes due for 2025. After April 15, the only type of retirement accounts still available for 2025 contributions will be a SEP-IRA for self-employed people. Warning: many financial institutions have early cutoff times for accepting 2025 contributions on April 15. Some of them even stop accepting money a day or two in advance. Check with your IRA custodian!
. - State-specific issues. On April 15, you’re supposed to file your 2025 state tax returns, pay your 2025 state income taxes, request any remaining state refunds from 2022, and possibly make a 2026 state tax estimated payment. This only applies to those states that impose state income tax. Caution: Regardless of where you live now, you may be subject to 2025 income tax from the states where you used to live, where you worked, where you owned real properties or businesses, or from where you received some other income. Frustratingly, state taxation does not follow the IRS rules and varies greatly from state to state. Make sure to research the rules of each state where you had residence, work, business or investment ties.
Don’t I have an extension option?
Yes and no. I just outlined 7 different deadlines, and each of them has its own rules when it comes to extensions.
- Paying 2025 taxes. Alert: you cannot get this deadline extended! From April 16, you start accruing penalties and interest, extension or not. However, without an extension, your penalties will be 10 times (!) higher – or more! – so by all means do file an extension.
. - Filing 2025 personal tax return. This deadline is easily extended for 6 months, until October 15, just for asking. The IRS calls it “automatic.” Well, it is automatically granted, but you do have to ask. Asking means sending the IRS a very simple Form 4868. Do it online, NOT by mail! The IRS does misplace a lot of their mail. I once even had the IRS misplace paper extensions that I hand-delivered to their office.
. - Filing 2025 C-corporation tax return. You can get a no-questions-asked 5-month extension, until September 15. You need to file Form 7004, and I highly recommend finding a vendor to do it online. Caution: filing your personal tax extension on Form 4868 does NOT grant extensions to your corporations! They must be requested separately.
. - Requesting 2022 tax refunds. The relevant extension had to be filed in 2023. If it was filed and accepted by the IRS in 2023, you have time until October 15, no other actions required. Otherwise, no new extensions.
. - 2026 estimated tax payments. No extensions available. The penalty will start accruing on April 16.
. - 2025 IRA contributions. No extensions available. Only SEP-IRA accounts can be funded after April 15.
. - State extensions. Filing 2025 state tax returns, paying 2025 state taxes, and all other state tax issues – each state has its own rules. Some states honor Federal (IRS) extensions, others require specific filing of a state extension. Caution: if you need to file a state tax return, do not assume that the state will follow the IRS rules or accept the IRS extension – check with the state.
How much are the penalties?
Suppose you owe the IRS $1,000 for 2025; you file an extension on April 15 but do not pay. Here is how you balance will grow from penalties and interest:
by May 15 – $1,010
by June 15 – $1,020
by October 15 – $1,061
The numbers will be much more troublesome if you fail to file an extension:
by May 15 – $1,055
by June 15 – $1,550 (ouch, a $525 minimum kicks in!)
by October 15 – $1,601
The IRS can never forgive or reduce interest, however first-time penalties can be removed. If you never had late penalties from the IRS, you can request that they waive them, and usually they will. After the first time, forgiveness of penalties is unlikely.
Does filing an extension trigger an IRS audit?
I have heard some gurus, bloggers and podcasters make such a claim. I disagree, and this is why. In my business, I help a lot of people who are audited by the IRS. The IRS audits do not start until about 1.5 years after the filing deadline. In other words, if your 2025 tax return is audited by the IRS, you will hear from them somewhere in late 2027, not now. Which is way past the October extension deadline.
If you believe that filing an extension causes an audit, you’re suggesting that the IRS flags your tax return now, in 2026, and then waits more than a full year to notify you. This gives our government too much credit for being organized (or evil if you prefer).
From my experience, extensions do not affect audits. Tax returns are audited based on what they contain, not on when they are filed.
Should I prepare a draft tax return using rough estimates?
Yes, because it may give you an idea of whether you’re getting a refund or end up owing money to the IRS. And if owing, then how much.
However, do not file this draft version with the IRS! Many people commit this dangerous mistake. They create a tax return based on ballpark guesses, as in – I made approximately $80k in commissions and had approximately $50k in business expenses, so my income was about $30k. They send this quick-n-dirty tax return to the IRS, and they plan to fix (“amend”) it later, once they have the real numbers.
It is a very bad idea, for two reasons. First, there is nothing more permanent than temporary. Once you send a draft version to the IRS, this highly unpleasant chore is out of your mind, and I bet you will never force yourself to revisit this already “completed” project. You forgot, but Uncle Sam did not. In a few months, the IRS computer will notice your suspiciously round numbers and will flag you for an audit.
Secondly, even if you do summon the willpower to prepare an accurate tax return later, you are not in a great spot. You again will run a high risk of an audit, especially if your revised version substantially reduces your taxes. This is a major audit flag. What if your amended return increases your taxes instead of reducing them? Then you will be hard tempted to sweep the revised version under the rug. Which leaves your old audit flags – rounded guessed numbers – on record.
Either way, this is a lose-lose situation. The right way is to prepare a ballpark estimate but file an extension. Then file only one, accurate, tax return whenever it is ready.