Ask The Taxgirl: Mistake On 4868

Taxpayer asks:

I filed an extension, but erroneously provided zero as an answer to all Part II Individual Income Tax questions 4-7. Can I amend the financial information provided on Form 4868 after it has been submitted? Thank you.

Taxgirl says:

The reason that the IRS asks you to complete the financial portion on the form 4868 is to assist you in determining whether you need to make a payment with your extension request. It’s not the same as your tax return – the IRS understands that these are estimates.

All of that said, you want to be as accurate as possible because an extension is an extension of the time to file and not the time to pay. Failure to make a timely payment can result in interest and penalties.

If you’ve realized that you’ll owe, there’s no need to amend the form 4868. There’s no real benefit to amending the form (and quite frankly, I’m not even sure how you would since I’ve never had a client that did so). You have a few choices:

1. Make a payment now. The IRS is more than happy to get your money. If you think you’ll owe and you want to reduce the penalties and interest, you can always send a payment in now.
2. File now and make payment with your return. There’s no need to wait until October if you’re ready to file and pay now.
3. File and pay later. Yes, you’ll owe taxes plus (possibly) interest and penalty. But it’s not the end of the world. The important part is to make sure that your return is correct and that you’ve paid.

Before you go: be sure to read my disclaimer. Remember, I’m a lawyer and we love disclaimers.
If you have a question, here’s how to Ask The Taxgirl.

Kelly Phillips Erb

Kelly Phillips Erb is a tax attorney, tax writer, and podcaster.

See Full Bio