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MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money
By
April 16, 2025 / 8:48 AM EDT / CBS News
You’re not alone if you missed this year’s April 15 tax filing deadline. Millions of Americans find themselves in this position each year, for reasons ranging from simple oversight to life events.
While the IRS imposes penalties for unfiled taxes and delinquent filing, it’s not too late to deal with the situation. Tax professionals emphasize that addressing it promptly can minimize consequences and open pathways to resolution. Below, they detail specific steps to take if you’re among those who missed the deadline.
Start tackling your existing tax debt here now.
5 steps to take if you missed the IRS tax filing deadline
These five expert-recommended moves can help you get back on track with the IRS:
File your taxes as soon as possible
“File as soon as possible to minimize failure-to-file penalties, which are 5% per month (or portion of a month) on any unpaid taxes,” warns Miri Forster, partner and national tax controversy leader at Eisner Advisory Group, LLC, an accounting, tax and business advisory firm.
Filing promptly is essential even if you’re expecting a refund instead of owing money. You’ll have up to three years to secure your refund before it’s forfeited. “[Electronic filing] with direct deposit [is] the fastest way to get your refund,” says Lisa Greene-Lewis, a certified public accountant and tax expert at TurboTax.
Get started with your taxes today.
See if you qualify for disaster relief
The IRS has issued tax help for victims of major disasters, including hurricanes and wildfires. If you live in one of the affected regions, you may be eligible for an extension for your 2024 tax returns and payments. For example, Los Angeles residents affected by the January wildfires may have until October 15, 2025, to file taxes.
Pay your taxes promptly
Experts, including Forster, encourage making your tax payment quickly to reduce late filing and late payment fees. The failure to pay penalty is 0.5% of the tax owed after the due date — for each month or part of a month the tax remains unpaid — up to 25%.
Short on funds? Stephen A. Weisberg, principal attorney at tax defense company The W Tax Group, emphasizes that partial payment is better than no payment. “The more you pay on what you owe, the less the failure-to-pay penalty [you’ll get],” he explains.
Assuming you file your return on time and set up an IRS installment agreement, the penalty rate drops from 0.5% to 0.25% monthly. This reduction alone could save you money while you pay off your tax debt.
Explore tax relief options
The IRS offers several payment plans and relief services if you can’t pay your full tax bill right away:
- Short-term payment plan: Greene-Lewis suggests using this plan if you’re able to pay what you owe within 180 days.
- Long-term installment agreement: This plan allows you to spread payments over six years. Look into this option if you can’t pay what you owe within 180 days.
- Offer in Compromise (OIC): This program allows qualifying taxpayers to settle their tax debt for a lower amount. You’ll need to complete Form 656 and show that paying the full amount would create financial hardship. Weisberg notes that while this is one of the most well-known forms of tax relief, you have to qualify for it, and many don’t.
- Currently Not Collectible status: “If you have [dire] financial hardship and wouldn’t be able to pay your household bills if you had to pay for the IRS, you may qualify for [this],” explains Weisberg. This temporarily pauses collection actions, though interest continues to accumulate.
- Penalty abatement: “The IRS may approve a one-time abatement of late-filing penalties if [you haven’t] been subject to penalties [in] the last three years,” says Forster.
Seek professional tax help
“[Get] help the minute you realize you need [support in] filing your return and [won’t] be able to pay what you owe,” urges Weisberg. He recommends seeing a tax attorney, a certified public accountant or an enrolled agent. These three designations are the only ones recognized to represent taxpayers with IRS debt. Research the top tax relief companies and be cautious of ones making promises that sound too good to be true.
The bottom line
Falling behind on taxes doesn’t have to be a financial catastrophe. “Work with a tax advisor to file them quickly and explore options to minimize penalty exposure,” suggests Forster. Without your filed return, the IRS may create a substitute return that omits your eligible credits and deductions, potentially leaving money on the table that should be yours.
Sharon WuSharon Wu, a senior writer with over a decade of experience, specializes in consumer-focused content covering home and finance topics such as insurance, investments, credit, debt, mortgages and home security.
