The severe winter storms that have been wreaking havoc this year are continuing to pile on the stress for taxpayers (trust me, I’m still waiting for my home phone service to be restored). It’s an especially difficult time for businesses which are required to file partnership and S corporation tax returns since those returns are normally due March 15. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced a bit of a break in the form of additional time to request a six-month extension to file 2017 federal income tax returns.
The IRS is providing this relief to victims and tax professionals affected by last week’s storm that primarily hit portions of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Those business taxpayers who would normally file a form 1065, form 1065-B, or form 1120S by March 15, 2018, have until March 20, 2018, to request an automatic extension. To request an extension for a business, file form 7004, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns (downloads as a PDF).
You can file electronically, or, if you file by paper, write “Winter Storm Quinn” or “Winter Storm Skylar” on the form to take advantage of the extra few days to file the request. Otherwise, you don’t need to offer a reason: You don’t need to state why you’re filing for an extension since it is granted automatically if you follow the rules.
An extension means that you will have six more months to get your return to the IRS and not be subject to the late-filing penalty.
Remember that an extension is an extension of the time to file and not an extension of time to pay. If you expect to owe at tax time and you’re filing for an extension, you should make a payment with your extension request to avoid interest and penalty later. It’s worth noting, however, that businesses filing pass-through business returns such as a form 1120S typically do not owe tax.
