If you could not complete your 2024 tax return by April 15, 2025, and are now on extension, that extension expires on October 15, 2025. Failure to file before the extension period runs out can subject you to late-filing penalties. There are no additional extensions (except in designated disaster areas), so if you still do not or will not have all the information needed to complete your return by the extended due date, please call this office so that we can explore your options for meeting your October 15 filing deadline. If you are waiting for a K-1 from a partnership, S-corporation, or fiduciary (trust) return, the extended deadline for those returns is September 15 (September 30 for fiduciary returns). So, you should probably make inquiries if you have not yet received that information. Late-filed individual federal returns are subject to a penalty of 5% of the tax due for each month, or part of a month, for which a return is not filed, up to a maximum of 25% of the tax due. If you are required to file a state return and do not do so, the state will also charge a late-file penalty. The filing extension deadline for individual returns is also October 15 for most states. In addition, interest continues to accrue on any balance due, currently at the rate of just over .5% per month. If this office is waiting for some missing information to complete your return, we will need that information at least a week before the October 15 due date. Please call this office immediately if you anticipate complications related to providing the needed information, so that a course of action may be determined to avoid the potential penalties. Additional October 15, 2025, Deadlines – In addition to being the final deadline to timely file 2024 individual returns on extension, October 15 is also the deadline for the following actions: - FBAR Filings - Taxpayers with foreign financial accounts, the aggregate value of which exceeded $10,000 at any time during 2024, must file electronically with the Treasury Department a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). The original due date for the 2024 report was April 15, 2025, but individuals have been granted an automatic extension to file until October 15, 2025. SEP-IRAs – October 15, 2025, is the deadline for a self-employed individual to set up and contribute to a SEP-IRA for 2024. The deadline for contributions to traditional and Roth IRAs for 2024 was April 15, 2025. Special Note – Disaster Victims – If you reside in a Presidentially declared disaster area, the IRS provides additional time to file various returns, make payments and contribute to IRAs. Check this website for disaster-related filing and paying postponements. Please call this office for extended due dates of other types of filings and payments and for extended filing dates in disaster areas. Please don’t procrastinate until the last week before the due date to file your extended returns. Final note: if for whatever reason you miss the October 15 deadline, you should still file your return as soon thereafter as possible. If you need a professional to assist you with your taxes or need tax information, get started with Steve Brewer CPA & Company.
After September 30, 2025, the IRS will NOT accept checks, money orders, cashier checks, etc. for payment of taxes, penalties, fines and interest. You will only be able to pay by ACH or with credit card. This does not affect the third quarter estimated individual tax payments which are due on September 15, 2025. It will affect every business and individual who will be making any form of payment thereafter. The fourth quarter estimate payment is due on January 15, 2025. You will not be able to pay this by check. It must be in some form of an electronic payment. You could go ahead now and make your fourth quarter estimate payment by September 15 along with the third quarter payment. You will need to designate the payment as fourth quarter and enclose any payment voucher you have. The estimate vouchers we give you do have instructions on how to pay online for both federal and state. What does this mean if you owe on your tax return? 1. You will have to arrange payment using the instructions that are included on your payment voucher. 2. If you have set up an individual account with the IRS, you may make the payment via that account. 3. Finally, we can arrange through our tax software to have the amount due deducted from your bank account. We must do this at the time of filing the return. Once the return is filed, we cannot refile it. We are going to offer another option. An individual estimated tax payment service. In this service we will arrange payment of your estimated payment each time one comes due. We will contact you about 2 weeks prior to the due date to confirm your information. We will then arrange for the estimate payment for both the federal and state. We will be offering this service for each quarter. For most of you it will be arranging payment of the estimates which we give you when you pick up your tax return. If you are one of our clients who we calculate up-to-date payments, you may add on this service. The cost of this service is $200 per year. If you are uncomfortable working with a computer, do not have time each quarter or just want to get it done, then this service is for you. If you are interested, please call Christina at the office to arrange a call to discuss this.