What Form 4868 is for
Form 4868 asks the IRS for 6 more months to file your Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, or 1040-SS. You don't have to say why you want the extra time. The IRS contacts you only if it denies your request. You do have to estimate your 2025 tax liability on line 4 and file by the due date of the return you're extending.
Anyone who files one of those individual returns can use it, including nonresident filers and people living or serving outside the United States and Puerto Rico. Fiscal year taxpayers have to file a paper copy. You can also skip the form completely by paying part or all of your estimated income tax electronically and marking that payment as an extension payment.
Who files Form 4868?
Use Form 4868 if you need 6 more months to file Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, or 1040-SS. To qualify, you must estimate your 2025 tax liability using the information you have, put that total on line 4, and file by your return's due date. Don't file it if you want the IRS to figure your tax for you, or if a court order says you must file your return by the due date. An extension of your 2025 calendar year income tax return also extends the time to file Form 709 or 709-NA for 2025.
- Out of the country and a U.S. citizen or resident: 4 more months instead of 6
- Fiscal year taxpayers: you must file a paper Form 4868
- Filing a joint return: both spouses' names go on the form
When is Form 4868 due?
File Form 4868 by the due date of your Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, or 1040-SS. For a 2025 calendar year return, that is April 15, 2026, for most people. Fiscal year taxpayers file by the due date of their fiscal year return. If a disaster affected you, you may have extra time to file Form 4868. The IRS generally can't push your return due date out more than 6 months, which lands on October 15, 2026, for most calendar year taxpayers. You can file your return any time before the extension runs out.
Three ways to request the extension
You have three options. Pay all or part of your estimated income tax and mark the payment as an extension payment, using your bank account, a digital wallet such as Click to Pay, PayPal, or Venmo, cash, or a credit or debit card. E-file Form 4868 through tax software or a tax professional who uses e-file. Or mail a paper Form 4868, with a payment if you want. Several companies offer free e-filing of Form 4868 through the Free File Program.
- Pay electronically and you don't need to file the form at all
- E-filing gives you an electronic acknowledgment to keep with your records
- Don't mail the form after e-filing unless you're paying by check or money order
- To e-file, have a copy of your 2024 tax return ready for verification
Does Form 4868 give you more time to pay?
No. Form 4868 extends the time to file, not the time to pay. You'll owe interest on any tax not paid by your return's due date, and interest keeps running until you pay. A good reason for paying late doesn't cancel the interest. You may also face a late payment penalty. You are treated as having reasonable cause for the extension period if at least 90% of the total tax on your 2025 return is paid by the due date through withholding, estimated tax payments, or payments made with Form 4868, and you pay the rest with your return.
What if you're out of the country?
If you're out of the country on your return's due date and you're a U.S. citizen or resident, you already get 2 extra months to file and pay without asking. For a calendar year return, that means June 15, 2026. Interest still applies to payments made after the original due date. Check the box on line 8 if you need an additional 4 months. You count as out of the country if you live outside the United States and Puerto Rico and your main workplace is outside them, or if you're on military or naval duty outside them. If you expect to meet the bona fide residence or physical presence test later, file Form 2350 instead.
Where do you mail a paper Form 4868?
The address depends on your state and on whether you're enclosing a payment. With a payment, the form goes to an Internal Revenue Service P.O. box. Without a payment, it goes to a Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center. You can also use certain designated private delivery services from UPS, FedEx, and DHL Express to meet the timely mailing rule.
- With payment, most states: P.O. Box 931300, Louisville, KY 40293-1300
- With payment, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas: P.O. Box 1302, Charlotte, NC 28201-1302
- With payment, foreign address, Form 1040-NR, or Form 1040-SS filers: P.O. Box 1303, Charlotte, NC 28201-1303 USA
- No payment: Austin, TX 73301-0045, Kansas City, MO 64999-0045, or Ogden, UT 84201-0045, depending on your state
- Private delivery services can't deliver to P.O. boxes, so use the U.S. Postal Service for those
Form 4868 line by line
| Line | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Part I | Your identification. Enter a different address here if you want IRS correspondence sent somewhere else, including to an agent acting for you. |
| 1 | Your name. For a joint return, list both spouses in the order they will appear on the return, plus your address. |
| 2 | The SSN you'll show first on your return. Estates and trusts filing Form 1040-NR enter an EIN and write "estate" or "trust" in the left margin. |
| 3 | Your spouse's SSN, meaning the other number that will be shown on a joint return. |
| Part II | Your tax estimate. You can round cents to whole dollars, but then you have to round every amount on the form. |
| 4 | Total tax liability you expect on your 2025 Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 24, or Form 1040-SS, Part I, line 7. Enter -0- if you expect zero. |
| 5 | Total payments you expect on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 33, or Form 1040-SS, Part I, line 12. Leave out what you're paying with this form. |
| 6 | Balance due. Subtract line 5 from line 4. If line 5 is more than line 4, enter -0-. |
| 7 | The amount you're paying now. You still get the extension if you pay less than line 6, but paying more limits the interest you'll owe. |
| 8 | Check this box if you're out of the country on your return's due date and you're a U.S. citizen or resident. |
| 9 | Check this box if you file Form 1040-NR, got no wages subject to U.S. income tax withholding, and your return is due June 15, 2026. |
Penalties and withholding
½ of 1%
Late payment penalty on tax unpaid by the return due date, for each month or part of a month
25%
Maximum late payment penalty
5%
Late filing penalty on the amount due, for each month or part of a month the return is late
25%
Maximum late filing penalty
$525
Minimum late filing penalty if your return is more than 60 days late, or the balance due if smaller
Source: IRS, Form 4868 (Rev. 2025). This page explains the form in plain English. It is not tax advice.