Tax Season Tips – How to Extend Your Time to File or Pay What You Owe

ends April 18, 2016. With only 12 days until the filing deadline, here are some important tips for extending your time to file and paying what you owe.

How to Extend Your Time to File If you can’t complete your tax return by the deadline, you can complete an extension of time to file form with either the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the Indiana Department of Revenue. Filing either extension gives you until Nov. 14, 2016 to file your tax return.

If you filed an extension of time to file with the IRS, this also applies in Indiana. You do not have to file a separate form.

Although the extension provides an extension of time to file, you are still responsible for paying any tax owed by April 18, 2016.

If you don’t have a federal extension, you can file for an Indiana extension by following these steps:

1. Download Form IT-9 and mail it to the Indiana Department of Revenue. It must be postmarked by April 18, 2016.
2. Determine if you owe tax to Indiana. You should pay at least 90 percent of the tax due when you submit the extension. Pay as much as you can to avoid penalty and interest.
3. File and pay the remaining balance by the extension date (Nov. 14, 2016) to avoid penalty.

How to Pay if You Owe If you owe tax, pay as much as you can by the April 18 deadline. To pay online through the department’s secure ePay site, visit www.epay.in.gov.

If you cannot pay the full amount due, you can:

• Pay as much as possible when you file your return. Penalty and interest will be due on the unpaid amount. The more you pay when you file, the less penalty and interest you will owe. The department will send a bill within a few weeks of your filing with the remaining amount due.
• If you cannot pay any amount, file your tax return without payment. The department will send a bill within a few weeks with the full amount due plus penalty and interest.

You can qualify for a payment plan if you owe more than $100 and make a 20 percent down payment. Go to www.epay.in.gov or call 317-232-2165 after receiving a bill to establish a payment plan. Once the plan is approved, payments can be made online or by mail.

Contact the Department If you have questions about your individual income taxes, you may call the department at 317-232-2240. Bilingual representatives are available. Department phone lines are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

If you’d prefer to speak to a tax analyst in person, you may visit one of our 12 office locations. Contact information is available at www.in.gov/dor/3390.htm.

You also can contact the department on Facebook and Twitter.