If you filed for an extension back in April, your 2025 federal tax return is due on Thursday, October 15, 2026. That’s about three weeks away. And unlike most years, the returns being filed this fall are the first to include a wave of new deductions and rules — which means there’s more to get right, and more to miss, than usual.
Here’s what extension filers need to know before the deadline.
There Is No Second Extension
The IRS caps a filing extension at six months. For calendar-year individual filers who submitted Form 4868 by April 15, that six months runs out on October 15. There is no additional extension available after that.
If you miss it, the failure-to-file penalty begins accruing at 5% of the unpaid tax per month, up to a maximum of 25%. That’s on top of the failure-to-pay penalty and interest that may already have been building since April.
One thing that surprises people every year: the IRS does not send reminder notices before the October 15 deadline. There is no letter, email, or phone call telling you your extended return is due. By the time you hear from the IRS, it’s a penalty notice, not a reminder.
An Extension Was Never an Extension to Pay
This is the single most misunderstood rule of extension season. An extension gives you more time to file — not more time to pay. Any tax owed for 2025 was due on April 15, 2026, and interest has been accruing on any unpaid balance since that date, whether or not you filed Form 4868.
If you extended without paying what you owed, the balance has been growing for five months. The sooner you file and pay, the sooner that stops. If you can’t pay the full amount, filing on time and paying what you can is still far better than not filing at all — the failure-to-file penalty is ten times larger than the failure-to-pay penalty. Payment plans and other resolution options exist for balances that can’t be paid in full.
Why 2025 Returns Are Different
The 2025 tax year is the first to reflect the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the changes are substantial. If you’re filing an extended 2025 return, these are new items you may be entitled to — and that a rushed or self-prepared return could easily overlook:
- No tax on tips — a new deduction for qualified tip income, subject to income limits and documentation requirements
- No tax on overtime — a deduction for qualified overtime compensation, with the IRS still issuing updated guidance on what counts as recently as August
- Auto loan interest deduction — up to $10,000 in interest on a qualifying new vehicle loan
- Enhanced senior deduction — an additional $6,000 for taxpayers 65 and older, subject to income phase-outs
- Expanded SALT deduction — the cap on state and local tax deductions rose from $10,000 to $40,000 for 2025, a major change for homeowners who itemize
- Charitable deduction for non-itemizers — a new above-the-line deduction available even if you take the standard deduction
Every one of these has its own eligibility rules, income thresholds, and documentation requirements. Several were still being clarified by the IRS months after the original April deadline. Extension filers who put their return together in the next three weeks are working with rules that many tax preparers themselves are still absorbing.
Common Reasons People Extended — and What to Watch For
People extend for good reasons, and those reasons often point to the exact areas where mistakes happen:
Waiting on a K-1. If you’re a partner in a partnership or a shareholder in an S corporation, your Schedule K-1 may not have arrived until this month. Those entity returns were due September 15, so the K-1s should be in hand now — but they need to be entered correctly, and pass-through income can interact with the new OBBBA provisions in ways that aren’t obvious.
Self-employment income from multiple sources. Schedule C filers often extend because reconstructing a year of business income and expenses takes time. This is also where estimated tax underpayment penalties tend to surface.
A life change in 2025. Retirement, a home sale, an inheritance, a divorce, or a new business all change how a return should be prepared — and often change which of the new deductions apply.
Georgia state return. Your Georgia individual income tax return has the same October 15 extended deadline, and Georgia’s rules don’t always mirror the federal changes. If you claimed a federal extension, Georgia honors it, but the state return still has to be filed.
Filing Late Costs More Than Filing Right Now
There is a temptation, when the deadline is close, to file something quickly just to stop the clock. That’s understandable, but a rushed return that misses deductions you were entitled to — or claims ones you weren’t — creates its own problems. Amending a return later takes time, and an incorrect return can draw IRS attention that a careful one never would.
The better path is to get it done correctly, and done now, rather than in the final 48 hours.
At Morris and Associates, Ken Morris meets personally with every client to review their full picture before a return is prepared — including which of the new 2025 deductions apply, how pass-through or self-employment income should be handled, and what to do about any balance that’s been accruing since April. If you extended your 2025 return and haven’t filed yet, three weeks is enough time to do it right — but not if you wait until October.
Contact Morris and Associates today for a free consultation.
Morris and Associates serves individuals and businesses throughout metro Atlanta and across Georgia. Call (678) 641-3193 or visit morristaxadvisors.com to get started.
