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Help Center  >  Individuals  >  E-Filing & Submitting  >  Extensions

Form 4868 – Filing a Federal Individual Tax Return Extension (Consumer)

Form 4868 is used to request an extension of time to file an individual tax return, Form 1040. After Filing Form 4868, To enter the amount paid with Federal Form 4868 on your return, see Form 4868 – Reporting An Amount Paid with Extension.

Form 4868 is only an extension of time to file, not an extension of time to pay any amount due. If you expect to owe taxes, you still need to pay amount due by the filing deadline to avoid late fees and penalties. You must estimate the tax due amount and pay when you file the extension request.

If you expect to receive a refund (i.e., your total payments are more than your estimated tax liability), the program will automatically enter zero (0) for your balance due on Line 6. Some taxpayers may be eligible for automatic extensions of time to file (see Special Extensions below for details).

Once the IRS accepts an extension request, you will receive an email confirmation showing the acknowledgement. This acknowledgement is proof that the IRS has accepted or confirmed your extension request. 

Generate and File

To generate and file Form 4868, follow the steps below:

Online

Dashboards

  1. From within your TaxAct return, click File.
    • On smaller devices, click the menu at the top left corner of your screen, then make your selection. 
  2. Select File Extension.
  3. Complete the rest of the interview process. 
  4. On the screen titled How would you like to submit your extension request?, select either print or e-file your extension.

Classic Navigation

  1. From within your TaxAct return, expand Filing and select File Extension.
    • On smaller devices, click the menu at the top left corner of your screen, then make your selection. 
  2. Continue with the interview process to enter your information.
  3. On the screen titled How would you like to submit your extension request?, select either print or e-file your extension.

Desktop

  1. Click on the Filing tab and select File Extension.
  2. Choose Federal and State, Federal Only, or State Only.
  3. Follow the walk-through Complete Form 4868 or Estimate My Tax (prior to completing Form 4868).
  4. On the Form 4868 – Filing screen, choose either Print Form 4868 or E-File Form 4868.

NOTE: State extensions can be generated at the same time as the federal, where supported. If you are not prompted to create the state extension, be sure that you have added the state to your return by clicking the State menu and providing basic information. 

Special Extensions – Outside U.S. and Puerto Rico

If you are currently outside the United States and Puerto Rico, you may qualify for an automatic two-month extension. To indicate that you are out of the country, check the box on the screen titled Form 4868 – Out of the Country. For this screen to appear, the date entered for Today’s Date must be 4/15 or later.
NOTE: If you qualify for the automatic two-month extension but would like to request an additional four months by filing Form 4868, see the steps above instead.
 
You must attach a statement to your return explaining that you qualify for the automatic extension. To do so, follow the steps below:

Online

Dashboards

  1. From within your TaxAct return, click Resources.
    • On smaller devices, click the menu at the top left corner of your screen, then make your selection. 
  2. Select Federal Search in the My Return section. 
  3. Expand Miscellaneous Topics.
  4. Scroll down and expand the Additional Information for E-Filing section. 
  5. Click the Explanation for Automatic 2 Month Extension for Taxpayers Out of Country.
  6. Enter an explanation that shows one of the following applies to you:
    • You are living outside the United States and Puerto Rico and your main place of business or post of duty is outside the United States and Puerto Rico; or
    • You are in military or naval service on duty outside the United States and Puerto Rico.
  7. Click Continue to attach the explanation to your return.

Classic Navigation

  1. From within your TaxAct return, click Federal.
    • On smaller devices, click the menu at the top left corner of your screen, then make your selection. 
  2. Expand Miscellaneous Topics.
  3. Scroll down and expand the Additional Information for E-Filing section. 
  4. Click the Explanation for Automatic 2 Month Extension for Taxpayers Out of Country.
  5. Enter an explanation that shows one of the following applies to you:
    • You are living outside the United States and Puerto Rico and your main place of business or post of duty is outside the United States and Puerto Rico; or
    • You are in military or naval service on duty outside the United States and Puerto Rico.
  6. Click Continue to attach the explanation to your return.

Desktop

  1. From within your TaxAct return, click Federal.
  2. Expand Miscellaneous Topics.
  3. Scroll down and expand the Additional Information for E-Filing section. 
  4. Click the Explanation for Automatic 2 Month Extension for Taxpayers Out of Country.
  5. Enter an explanation that shows one of the following applies to you:
    • You are living outside the United States and Puerto Rico and your main place of business or post of duty is outside the United States and Puerto Rico; or
    • You are in military or naval service on duty outside the United States and Puerto Rico.
  6. Click Continue to attach the explanation to your return.

Disaster Areas

If the IRS postpones filing and payment obligations for a disaster area, the due date for filing a return (or an extension) is postponed to that date. If you need more time, you can request an extension of time to file until October 15. If you are making the request before April 15, it can be e-filed, however, if you are attempting to submit the extension request after April 15, the extension request must be paper-filed. If the postponed deadline due to disaster falls after October 15, the return would be due on the later date, and no additional extensions of time to file are available.
For more information about disasters, call 1 (866) 562-5227, or visit the following IRS pages:

Military

If you are active-duty military, you may have additional time to file your return, and/or pay any amount due. Review IRS Publication 3 for more details about whether you may qualify for these extensions.

Import Issue

If you e-file an extension before importing your data from last year, you will not be able to import any data into the return.  If you want to import your data from last year, you will need to create a new return and import the data into the new return. This prevents overwriting the information you filed to the IRS, because importing overwrites return information.

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