My accountant filed one for me earlier this year because i couldn’t file on time… I dont have 1099s or anything like that and my income for the year was incredibly low. I had the extension filed b/c if i file late, there are penalties. However the penalties are very small for what i would even owe so filing an extension or filing late to me meant not much of a difference.
But once you file an extension, you will have to file a return no matter what right? I will be having it filed 100% but curious if this would even be allowed.
I know if you filed a tax return and made mistake on it, well you can and its called amending a return but what about this.
Your question isn’t very clear. The simplest way to “unfile” for an extension is to file your taxes. You don’t have to wait for the new deadline to file.
Are you asking can you file a form which says, "Whoops I asked for an extension, but it turns out I’m exempt from filing because my income is below the level at which filing is required? I think the answer to that is no. You’d have to file the 1040EZ (presumably that one) and show no tax due. I say I think because in a bureaucracy, there might well be a form for everything.
Having said that, If you do file an extension, but owe no tax and you never file a 1040, I don’t believe there is any penalty for “falsely” filing for an extension. But personally I’d not like that hanging over my head.
Just how “incredibly low” was your income, if you made more than $400 from self-employment, you have to file a return. The extension just allows you to file your return at some later date, you still have to pay your taxes by April 15th. [Gulp] … you did pay all your taxes already I hope. I don’t believe there’s anything that allows for a “tax extension”, you pay when it’s due or suffer the penalties.
What does your accountant say?
Yup, just file anyway … include a check for $0.01 just to make sure.
If your income is that low, why do you need an accountant to file your taxes? I would think you could hand-write the 1040EZ form or use one of the free filing options on the IRS website.
Filing an extension does not create an obligation to file a tax return if no obligation to file a tax return existed in the first place. There is no need to unfile an extension. If you were not obligated to file a return in the first place, filing an extension will not obligate you to do so.
So relax. The extension won’t hurt you, but it might help you.
If you file an extension and then make a mistake on your return, you are still allowed to file an amended return. Nothing about an extension takes away your right to file an amended return.
See charts A, B, and C of the Form 1040 Instructions (pages 7, 8, 9) to see if you are obligated to file. Do not overlook Chart C. Notice there is nothing that says that if you have an extension you are obligated to file.
Filing taxes when self-employed can be complicated, even if your income is incredibly low. I have found paying a trained accountant for advice and assistance in such circumstances to be beneficial for me, despite the fact I, too, have an incredibly low income. I might be below the poverty line but I can’t file a 1040EZ, I have to use the long form, as does everyone else who files with a 1099.
As always, YMMV.
OK. Thank you for the explanation. (I’ve only ever had income reported on W-2 or 1099 forms.)
yes thats the reason i have an accountant do it.
Yes this is what i wanted to ask. So if someone filed an extension but later on found out they didn’t have to file, wouldn’t the extension file still be on file? Such as wouldn’t
you get a letter on asking why did you not file your return when you did an extension?
Legal advice is best suited to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
They’re overworked as it is, and wouldn’t bother. Especially since an extension (as explained above) doesn’t change whether you’re required to file.
The question makes sense, but I think it’s been very succinctly answered by Alley Dweller.
Well the thing is this. If a person didn’t file an extension in the first place, then found out later on they didn’t need to file, well no issue at all. But if you filed an extension then find out you didn’t need to file… then wouldn’t having the extension filed still look bad in a way? Thus its a report of it in your file?
Curious if anyone here had a case like this when they filed extension that later on found out they didn’t had to file in first place but thought they did… but didn’t have time so they figure okay file the extension.
Is there a reason not to file the return showing that you didn’t need to file and mail it in? This would cost you some postage but it would cover you if the IRS tried to come after you in the future for filing for an extension and not filing a return…
No. Relax.
The IRS will not take it personally that you filed an unnecessary extension. They will not get mad at you. There is no lifetime limit on extensions. Filing an extension will not haunt you for the rest of your life and make you a sworn enemy of the IRS.
Even if you enclose a payment with your extension request, they will happily hang onto it until the statute of limitations for requesting a refund expires without making a peep.
However, im curious if anyone here filed an extension then later on found out they didn’t need to file in first place because they thought they did and if so what happens then.
Would you send them a letter saying you make a mistake filing an extension when you didn’t need to?
Well… I once filed an extension but managed to get my return done before the April 15th deadline, so it turned out I didn’t need it after all.
IRS didn’t seem to care in that case. Don’t know about the OP’s situation.
The IRS and your state (if applicable) may send you a letter at a future date asking about your return filing status. At that time, reply saying your review determined you had insufficient income to require filing and that will be that.
Actually i did not think about that situation where you file an extension then do it before the due date. Thats interesting to know but yes i would figure they have no issue with it if u did it on time.
Yes thats what i mean talltrees. What happens if someone files extension then eventually dont file b/c they didnt need to or they just didn’t.
Nothing. You’re overthinking this. It’s like putting an extra quarter in the parking meter to be on the safe side, then getting done early and leaving the parking space with time still on the meter. It doesn’t matter and no one cares.
The thing to remember about the IRS is that it’s all procedures driven. Looking for logic is usually not a useful procedure.
The IRS could prioritize sending letters to people who filed extensions, but I know that they don’t. Perhaps this is a result of a statistical analysis showing that extension-filers who don’t file a return are no more likely to owe taxes than everyone else who doesn’t file a return. A lot of IRS procedures are based on a cost-benefit analysis of what they do so something that historically generates low additional revenue will probably be dropped.
But, again, looking for logic is not all that useful. It’s not in the IRM, so they don’t do it. The explanation might not go any deeper than that.