You might have extra time to file your tax return—here's who qualifies

For most Americans, the deadline to file your 2023 federal tax return is April 15. But you might have extra time if you live in certain areas or are in the military.

For military members in combat zones, the federal tax filing and payment deadline is automatically extended 180 days after the end of your active service in that zone, even after April 15th. You can apply for additional extensions if you're on active duty as well.

For states impacted by natural disasters in 2023, the Internal Revenue Service has announced extended federal tax return deadlines to give residents more time to file and pay their tax returns. Here's a look at the list, in alphabetical order.

Residents in San Diego County affected by severe storms and flooding that began Jan. 21 now have until June 17, 2024 to file their federal tax returns.

Residents affected by severe storms and flooding that began Jan. 10 now have until June 17, 2024 to file their federal tax returns. The relief is offered to residents of New London County, the Mohegan Tribal Nation and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.

Residents affected by severe storms and flooding that began on Dec. 17, 2023 now have until June 17, 2024 to file their federal tax returns. The relief is offered to residents in Androscoggin, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo and Washington counties.

Residents affected by storms, tornadoes and flooding that began on Aug. 24, 2023 now have until June 17, 2024 to file their federal tax returns. The relief is offered to residents in Eaton, Ingham, Ionia, Kent, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland and Wayne counties. 

Residents of Providence County affected by severe storms, flooding and tornadoes that began on Sept. 10, 2023 qualify for an extended federal tax return deadline of June 17, 2024.

Residents affected by severe storms and tornadoes that began on Dec. 9, 2023, now have until June 17, 2024 to file their federal tax returns. The relief is offered to Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Gibson, Montgomery, Robertson, Stewart and Sumner and Weakley counties.

Residents of Spokane County affected by wildfires that began Aug. 18, 2023, now have until June 17, 2024 to file their federal tax returns.

Residents affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides that began Aug. 28, 2023 now have until June 17, 2024 to file their federal tax returns. The relief is offered to Boone, Calhoun, Clay, Harrison and Kanawha counties.

U.S. citizens and resident aliens who live and work outside of the United States and Puerto Rico get an automatic two-month tax filing extension until June 17, 2024.

However, unlike the states listed above, tax payments are still due April 15, otherwise interest and penalties for late payments will be charged.

If you need more time to prepare your taxes, you can use IRS Free File or other software to fill out and file Form 4868, which requests an automatic tax-filing extension until Oct. 15, 2024. Another option is making an electronic payment on your taxes and selecting "extension" as the reason. 

Most state income tax deadlines are April 15, 2024 as well, so you will need to follow up with each state directly if you want to file for an extension beyond that date.

But remember that a Form 4868 extension only provides extra time to file your tax return. It doesn't give you extra time to pay taxes you owe.

For any taxes owed past the deadline, the IRS will charge interest, which compounds daily. The IRS's interest rate for individual taxpayers is 3%, plus the federal short-term interest rate, which is set by the government every three months.

There are other tax penalties to consider as well:

• The failure-to-file penalty is imposed if you don't file your tax return by the due date, including extensions. The IRS charges a penalty of 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that the tax return is late, up to a maximum of 25% of your unpaid taxes.
• The failure-to-pay penalty is applied if you don't pay the taxes you owe by the tax payment deadline. The IRS charges 0.5% on unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that the taxes remain unpaid, up to a maximum of 25% of your unpaid taxes.

When you incur both penalties in a given month, the 5% failure to file penalty will be reduced by the failure to pay 0.5% penalty.

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