What Is the Penalty for Filing Taxes Late?

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What happens if you file late and owe taxes?
Failure-to-file penalty
Late-payment penalty
- The IRS could hit you with both a late-filing penalty and a late-payment penalty if your bill and return are both overdue. If both penalties are issued in the same month, the late-filing penalty is reduced by the amount of the late-payment penalty for that month, so you'd pay a combined fee of 5% for each month (or partial month) your return is late
.
- If your return is more than 60 days late, the minimum failure-to-file penalty is $510 or the entire amount of tax owed, whichever is smaller. The late-filing penalty maxes out after five months of your return being late, but other penalties and interest may continue to accrue.
- Some late filers may be eligible for tax relief in the form of a penalty abatement if they meet certain conditions. For example, you might be eligible for penalty relief if you have a reasonable explanation for filing late or if this is your first time missing the deadline.
What happens if you file taxes late but don't owe anything?
- Federal: $79 to $139. Free version available for Simple Form 1040 returns only.
- State: $0 to $69 per state.
- Expert help or full service filing is available with an upgrade to Live packages for a fee.
How to avoid a penalty for filing taxes late
How long can you go without filing taxes?
- Interest: On top of penalties, interest accrues on your unpaid taxes.
- A substitute return: If you fail to file but the IRS has some information needed to calculate your taxes, such as your W-2 form, you may be notified by mail that it has filed a return on your behalf. It won’t consider the tax credits, deductions or other tax breaks you may have taken if you’d done your taxes.
- Lost refunds: You may be missing out on money you’re owed. In most cases, you get a three-year window to file previous years’ returns
. Once this window closes, you forfeit your tax refund.
- Federal: $79 to $139. Free version available for Simple Form 1040 returns only.
- State: $0 to $69 per state.
- Expert help or full service filing is available with an upgrade to Live packages for a fee.
Article sources
- 1. Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty. Accessed Sep 24, 2024.
- 1. Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty. Accessed Sep 24, 2024.
- 3. Internal Revenue Service. Filing Past Due Tax Returns. Accessed Feb 26, 2025.
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