ACT NOW- 2018 TAX TIME IS NEAR! The 2018 deadline for your U.S. income taxes is
April 15, 2019
The truth is a bit more complex. There are different rules that apply to those who live in the U.S. and those that live
abroad. Also, you need to distinguish between paying your taxes and filing your tax returns.
Let’s get started…
Living Abroad
| Deadline | Deadline Date |
| Pay tax due without interest or penalties | April 15 |
| File tax returns (with automatic extension) | June 17 |
| File tax returns if applied for extension | October 15 |
File Returns
You must file your tax returns or apply for an extension by April 15, but those living abroad have an
automatic extension to file until June 17. This extension is different than the “applied for” extension
through October 15.
If you applied for an extension by April 15, you must file your tax returns by October 15.
Penalties for failure to timely file (including extensions), generally are 5.0% of net tax amount due per
month, subject to a cap.
Pay Taxes: You need to pay your Federal and
State taxes by April 15.
If you do not pay your taxes (or more) by that date you will likely owe interest and penalties. These can be substantial
(for instance, penalties for failure to timely pay, generally are 0.5% of net tax amount due per
month, subject to a cap). It can also affect the amount that your employer will withhold from your wages in
future years.
You need to pay your taxes even if you do not file your tax returns by April 15.
But wait, how do I know how much tax I owe if I haven’t done my return yet?
It does sound odd that you must pay your taxes before you’ve done the final tax
calculation. Nonetheless, it is true. The IRS and the State expect you to either (1) have your return done
by April 15 or (2) estimate your taxes due and pay your taxes based on your estimate.
If you estimate, you should estimate you owe the higher amount of tax. Otherwise, if it ends up that you underpaid your
taxes, you will likely incur interest and penalties. In our opinion, you are always better off overpaying your
taxes (thus avoiding interest and penalties) and file for a refund rather than underpaying and owing
interest and penalties.
