The due date for filing your U.S. income taxes for 2016 is April 18 not April 15.
If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien in the Philippines, in the military or naval service station in the Philippines, on the due date of your return you may qualify for an automatic extension of time to file without filing Form 4868. This extension gives you an extra two months to file and pay the tax, but interest will be charged from the original due date of the return on any unpaid tax. You must include a statement showing that you meet the requirements for the extension. If you are still unable to file your return by the end of the two month period, you can get an additional four months if, no later than June 15, 2017, by filing Form 4868.
What if you can’t file on time? As a general rule, You can request an extension to file and pay the tax that is due. There are three ways to request an automatic extension of time to file a U.S. individual income tax return:
1. You can pay all or part of your estimated income tax due and indicate that the payment is for an extension using Direct Pay, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, or using a credit or debit card,
2. You can file Form 4868 electronically by accessing IRS e-file using your home computer or by using a tax professional who uses e-file, or 3. You can file a paper Form 4868 and enclose payment of your estimate of tax due.
The final extension date is Oct. 15. If you can’t pay the tax due with your extension or when filing your return, file anyway to beat the five percent-a-month late filing levy. You can also use Form 9465 to set up an installment plan to pay the tax due.
Finally, be sure to fine-tune your estimated tax payments and withholding for 2017 if you owe taxes for 2016 or you expect your income to increase in 2017. You’ll need to determine and pay your 2017 estimated tax payments to avoid any under payment penalties. You needn’t prepay all the estimated tax you might owe for 2017, just an amount equal to 90 percent of it, or 100 percent of your 2016 tax bill (110 percent if your AGI exceeded $150,000 in 2016). Doing so avoids the underpayment penalty, even if you end up owing the IRS more in taxes in 2017 than you expected. If you pay too much, then you will get a refund.
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Author’s email: wolff2000@earthlink.net
