Tax Extension Center continues its series of The Top 100 Reasons to File a Tax Extension. Our aim is to inform taxpayers that a tax extension can be a valuable option because it saves time, stress, and even money.
Here’s reason #54: a death in the family has made life more complicated tax-wise.
God forbid this happens to anyone who reads this blog, but it’s something that does happen to tax payers each year.
How does death complicate taxes? Unfortunately there are several ways. For example, you need to figure out what to do to produce a final accounting for the deceased, how to treat the income of the deceased as an estate (as opposed to as an individual), how to deal with inheritances, etc. It’s a shame that things are so complex given the severity of such an event.
Among the options available to a person who is affected tax-wise by a death in the family are to A) get professional tax advice and B) take the extra time a tax extension afford you while you deal with the death and sort things out.
No matter the reason, you might be considering filing an IRS extension for the first time. Or maybe you file one every single year. Either way, remember that a tax extension does not give you more time to pay what you owe the IRS. You still need to make your payment by midnight on April 15. An IRS extension gives you more time to file the necessary tax forms you’re supposed to file. Failing to make a payment could make you subject to tax extension penalties and interest.
Any thoughts, questions, or comments about tax extensions? Let’s chat in the comment section below.
