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Worried About Filing a Late Tax Return?

By: Guest Blogger

Didn’t file your 2014 taxes by April 15, 2015? No worries, we’ll let you in on an industry secret – if you’re getting a refund, you can file for up to 3 years with no late fees or penalties!

If you owe additional taxes, your penalties are racking up so file your tax return as soon as possible to stop the clock on them.

Either way, it’s not too late to file your 2014 taxes. Read more about your specific situation below.

If you’re getting a refund on your 2014 tax return:

You can file through April 15, 2018 (October 15, 2018 if you filed an extension) with no late fees or penalties.
If you don’t file by 2018, you forfeit your refund.
Your refund is an interest free loan you’ve given Uncle Sam, so why give him any longer to pay you back? And it’s not a small loan – the average refund is around $2,800 this year! File today and get your refund back!

If you owe additional 2014 taxes:

There is no penalty if you filed an extension and paid 90% or more of taxes owed by April 15, 2015 as long as you file your return by October 15, 2015.
A late filing penalty applies if you owe taxes and didn’t file your return or an extension by April 15, 2015.
- The late filing penalty is 5% of the additional taxes owed amount for every month (or fraction thereof) your return is late, up to a maximum of 25%.
- The late filing penalty is 10 times higher than the late payment penalty. If you can’t pay your tax bill and didn’t file an extension, at least file your return as soon as possible! You can always amend it later.
A late payment penalty applies if you didn’t pay 90% or more of taxes owed by April 15, 2015, whether you filed an extension or not.
- The late payment penalty is 0.5% (1/2 of 1 percent) of the additional tax owed amount for every month (or fraction thereof) the owed tax remains unpaid, up to a maximum of 25%.

If you’re not sure if you owe or are getting a refund in 2014:

If there’s a chance you owe, the penalties are racking up, so don’t wait another day.
Most of our customers complete their taxes in minutes, so file now and get it over with.

Bill Hendricks is the CEO and co-founder of Common Form, which helps people with simple finances file taxes in 5 minutes from their phone or computer.