Tax Tip Tuesday: Rules Related to Individual Tax Return Deadlines

We only have a couple weeks until your federal individual tax return is due on April 18th. Yes, April 18th is correct because April 17th is Emancipation Day, which is a holiday in Washington DC. You have until May 1st to file your Iowa individual tax return.

April 18th and May 1st are also the due dates for the first quarter estimated tax payments.

If you don’t have everything you need to prepare and file your individual tax return, it is important to extend the federal return by April 18th.

If any tax is due, it must be paid by April 18th and May 1st. An extension of time to file your return does not extend the time to pay the tax.

If you fail to file your return by April 18th — or obtain the six-month extension — for each month or fraction of a month the return is late, you must pay a penalty equal to 5% of the net tax liability due for the year with a cap of 25%.

Fail to pay your balance due by that date, and you will become subject to a second penalty. A penalty of 0.5% will be added to the tax due for each month or fraction of a month the tax is outstanding, with the total penalty once again capped at 25%.

April 18th is also the due date for any IRA contributions, self-employed retirement plan contributions, and HSA contributions.

Disclaimer: The items included in the Tax Tip Tuesday Video Blog are informational only and are not meant as tax advice. Consult with your tax advisor to determine how any item applies to your situation. IRS Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advise contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein