No one likes being told what to do. It gets even worse when people tell you when to have what they told you to do done. We face deadlines every day: getting bills paid on time, kids to school, work, and of course filing taxes. The problem with deadlines is they cannot take into account our daily lives and how quickly it can be changed. This makes meeting deadlines sometimes very difficult. Online tax filing is no different, and it also carries a deadline: April 18th for your 2010 return. This is to avoid late fees and gathering interest which will result in more money out of your pocket, which is never a good look. As I said before, our daily activities and responsibilities can get in the way of our deadlines, so what do you do if you can't get your taxes filed online on time? The answer is simple, and it is getting an extension.

I know it may be shocking to hear that the Internal Revenue Service actually will let you file your return later. These extensions are open for anyone to use to prolong their time electronically filing their taxes. There are two major kinds of extension forms to fill out: form 4868 and form 2688. Each of these forms can help you when crunch time comes and taxes are due to give you a little breathing room instead of pulling your throat out and charging you a bucket of fees. We will go into greater detail on these extension forms and how each one should be used.

Form 4868 is the first type of extension option that you can use. The form is very simple to fill out, having to only put your name, address and social security number. You also have to figure out your tax liability and send in any type of balance you may have. This extension requires you make this payment and cover no less than ninety percent of your tax liability, but you will not have to pay a fee for filing later or any penalty for late payment. You can estimate your tax liability with several tools that can be very helpful in getting an accurate figure. This must be filed by the time your original return is due, around the 15th of April, but it will give you four additional months to file your taxes! You don't have to provide a reason for this extension which is great if you were just lazy and didn't bother to complete your return on time. If only more things in life had extensions!

Form 2688 is the second extension you can apply for, but it is a little more tricky to attain. When you complete this form, you receive an additional two months, requiring you to file by no later than the 17th of October. The tricky part about this extension is that you do have to have a reason for filling out this form. However, the IRS is pretty forgiving with your excuse, and as long as it is reasonable and thoughtfully explained you should have no problem getting approved. In the event that your reasoning isn't up to snuff, the IRS is still very lenient and will all you a few days to submit your income tax return. Still a sweet deal I'd say.

You must pay your tax liability regardless of if you have a great excuse to use either of the extensions or not. Without paying you cannot get an extension. Most websites allow you to request these extensions with a few clicks. Even the most successful people sometimes procrastinate, and everyone needs an extension every once in a while.