What Is the Last Day to File Taxes in Florida?
As a Florida resident, your tax duties are with the IRS. Understand the federal filing calendar, your options, and the critical difference between filing and paying.
Residents of Florida are not required to file a state income tax return, as the state constitution prohibits a personal income tax. This means that when discussing tax deadlines, the focus for individuals in Florida is entirely on their federal obligations to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). While corporations may have state-level filing requirements, individual residents only need to concern themselves with federal income tax laws and deadlines.
Primary Federal Tax Deadline
The primary deadline for filing federal income tax returns is April 15th. This date is the standard for all individual taxpayers across the United States, including Florida. If you owe any tax to the federal government, this is also the deadline to pay that amount to avoid penalties and interest.
If April 15th happens to fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the tax filing deadline is automatically moved to the next business day. One specific holiday that frequently impacts the tax deadline is Emancipation Day, which is observed in Washington, D.C. When this holiday falls on a weekday, it can push the national tax filing deadline by a day or more. Therefore, it is always a good practice to confirm the exact date each year.
Requesting a Filing Extension
Should you need more time to complete your federal tax return, you can request an automatic six-month extension from the IRS. This moves your filing deadline to October 15th. To get this extension, you must submit the correct form by the original April tax deadline. The primary document for this purpose is IRS Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
Filing Form 4868 grants you more time to gather your documents and submit your return, but it does not extend the deadline for paying any taxes you owe. You must estimate your tax liability and pay that amount by the original April deadline to avoid potential penalties. You can file the extension electronically using tax software or through the IRS Free File system, or you can mail a paper copy of Form 4868 to the IRS.
Making a payment to the IRS through their Direct Pay service or other electronic payment options and indicating the payment is for an extension can also secure the extension without filing a separate Form 4868. This action automatically provides you with a filing extension.
Penalties for Late Filing and Payment
The IRS imposes two separate penalties for lateness: one for failing to file on time and another for failing to pay on time. The penalties are calculated based on the amount of unpaid tax.
The Failure-to-File penalty is 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that a tax return is late. This penalty starts accruing the day after the tax filing deadline and is capped at 25% of your unpaid taxes. If your return is over 60 days late, the minimum penalty is the lesser of $510 or 100% of the tax owed.
The Failure-to-Pay penalty is set at 0.5% of your unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month the taxes remain unpaid. This penalty also caps out at 25% of your unpaid tax liability. Because the Failure-to-File penalty is higher, the IRS encourages taxpayers to file their return on time, even if they cannot afford to pay the full balance owed. This demonstrates a good-faith effort and significantly reduces the overall penalty amount.