Tax Day 2024: Can I Still File Taxes on April 15?

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April 15th, known as Tax Day, is the federal tax deadline most filers and could be the last chance to avoid a penalty. According on CNBC , There’s still time to file an extension, which pushes the filing deadline to Oct. 15. But you still must pay taxes owed by the due date. Many taxpayers can still file for free with IRS Free File or Direct File.

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Danny Werfel, IRS Commissioner, has said that many Americans wait until the last minute, sometimes the day of, to file their tax returns. Werfel says the IRS gets bombarded with these returns and it causes an inconvenience as the Internal Revenue Service team needs time to put in the appropriate numbers to make sure each filer gets their appropriate return.

“On a day like today, April 15, we might see a million returns come in every hour,”  said Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box .”

While April 15 is the federal deadline for most taxpayers, taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts have until April 17. There are also automatic extensions for some taxpayers impacted by natural disasters.

But if you skip the tax filing deadline and owe a balance, you can expect IRS penalties and interest. The IRS charges 5% of your unpaid taxes per month or partial month, capped at 25% of your balance due. The late-payment penalty is 0.5% per month or partial month, with a maximum fee of 25% of unpaid taxes. The Interest is that the filer pays will be based on the current rates .

If you’re missing tax forms , the tax deadline is your last chance to file an extension , which pushes the filing deadline to Oct. 15. But the “extension to file is not an extension to pay,” warned certified financial planner Sean Lovison.

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