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The Daily Insight

What happens if you miss a year of filing your taxes?

Author

Andrew Mclaughlin

Published Mar 27, 2026

The penalty for filing late is 5% of the taxes you owe per month for the first five months – up to 25% of your tax bill. The IRS will also charge you interest until you pay off the balance.

Only taxpayers who have filed their taxes are eligible for relief options. One little-known fact is that the IRS may actually file your taxes ​ for you ​ if you neglect your duty.

What happens if you file a late tax return?

There is no penalty for filing a late return after the tax deadline if a refund is due. Penalties and interest only accrue on unfiled returns if taxes are not paid by April 18.

What to do if you forgot to file taxes for a previous year?

How to File a Tax Return for a Previous Year With the IRS If you forgot to file your taxes for a particular year, try to file the missed year’s tax return as soon as possible to reduce your penalties and interest. You cannot use the IRS’s electronic filing system to file returns for past tax years.

What is the penalty for not filing your taxes by the deadline?

Late-filing penalty – This penalty kicks in if you did not file your tax return by the filing deadline or by the extension deadline. You’ll pay 5 percent of the amount of taxes you owe for each month (or portion of a month) that your return is late. The IRS puts a cap on this penalty at 25 percent.

When does a failure to file penalty apply?

A failure-to-file penalty may apply if you did not file by the tax filing deadline. A failure-to-pay penalty may apply if you did not pay all of the taxes you owe by the tax filing deadline.

What happens if you missed the FBAR filing date?

Filing FBAR Late: If a U.S. Person missed filing prior year FBARs, the IRS has procedures in place for taxpayers to submit late FBAR filing for prior year FBAR forms. The IRS has very strict deadlines when it comes to filing the FBAR. In 2017, the IRS updated the FBAR due date to coincide with tax return filings.

What’s the penalty for filing taxes 60 days past the due date?

The IRS puts a cap on this penalty at 25 percent. If you file your tax return later than 60 days past the due date, the minimum penalty you’ll owe is $205 or 100 percent of the taxes you owe, whichever amount is less.

The late-filing penalty is 5% of the tax due for each month (or part of a month) your return is late. If your return is more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty is $435 (for tax returns required to be filed in 2021) or the balance of the tax due on your return, whichever is smaller.

Is there a six month extension for taxes?

The standard six-month tax extension allows you to file your tax return after the usual deadline. However, it doesn’t buy you more time to pay any taxes you may owe. That means that if you don’t pay your tax balance by the filing deadline (April 15 in 2020), you’ll get hit with penalty and interest.

Do you have to pay penalties if you file extension?

“Efiling or filing a tax extension postpones my tax payments and avoids any IRS penalties.” Even if you get an extension, you still have to pay at least 90% (80% for eligible 2018 returns) of your balance due to avoid a late tax payment penalty.

Is there an extension to file your 2020 tax return?

If you need even more time to complete your 2020 federal returns you can request an extension to Oct. 15 by filing Form 4868 through your tax professional, tax software or using the Free File link on IRS.gov. Filing Form 4868 gives taxpayers until Oct. 15 to file their 2021 tax return but does not grant an extension of time to pay taxes due.

What happens if you file an extension with the IRS?

Other states, like New York, require a separate extension request. Even when filed before the deadline, some tax extension requests are rejected on or after that date. You’ll get notified in an email or letter from the IRS if your extension request is denied.

What to do if you miss a required penalty?

When seeking a penalty waiver, this line will also be zero. Even if the taxpayer does not receive a waiver, they are not required to pay the penalty in advance. Repeat this procedure with any additional Form 5329s for other tax years where an RMD shortfall occurred.