Electronic Postmark

Some of these keywords have a direct correlation to filing your taxes like “perfection period,” which is the 10-day time period you have to correct a rejected form, or “electronic federal tax payment system,” which is a method of paying any taxes you owe to the IRS.

It’s kind of like reading aloud back in grade school and coming across an unfamiliar word so the teacher has you look up the definition. Another one of these tossed around keywords with a link to filing taxes is “electronic postmark.”

“What’s an Electronic Postmark?”
Basically, whenever you e-file an IRS tax form online, there is a mark that bears the date and the time that your return was filed based on your time zone. Depending on where you are located, you may have to change the electronic postmark to the time zone where you actually live. In such a case, changing it would determine your postmark’s actual time.

Check out the video below:

“What does all that mean for me?”
Well, it relates directly to the deadline of your tax return. As we are well aware, IRS deadlines are a major factor, especially when trying to avoid penalties and fees. According to the IRS,

• If the electronic postmark is on or before the prescribed deadline for filing, but the IRS receives your return after the prescribed deadline for filing, the IRS treats your return as timely filed.
• If the electronic postmark is after the prescribed deadline for filing, which would be the IRS actual receipt date – not the date of the electronic postmark, the prescribed deadline is the filing date.
• If the IRS rejects your return, you must file a corrected return in accordance with the rules for timely filing corrected returns after rejection of an electronic return.

Let’s say that you e-file a tax extension with ExpressExtension; the electronic postmark that’s generated would be in Eastern Standard Time. If you e-filed from another time zone, the actual postmark would be when you e-filed your return based from your time zone.

Example:
E-filed with ExpressExtension – Thurs. July 16, 2015 11:52AM EST (Electronic Postmark)

E-filed from California – Thurs. July 16, 2015 8:52AM PST (Actual Postmark)

Keep in mind that if you are e-filing from another time zone, your return is still considered timely if it is filed by midnight, your local time, on the deadline date.

Make sure you have enough time to file your tax return in a timely manner by e-filing a tax extension with ExpressExtension. We offer extensions for personal, business, and tax-exempt returns. You can also e-file from any location by downloading our FREE app for iOS and Android tablet devices, or visit our mobile site to e-file using any mobile browser.

Expert assistance is available at our Rock Hill, South Carolina office. Feel free to contact our live professionals at (803) 514-5155, Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm EST. You can also either e-mail us at [email protected] or chat with us at www.expressextensions.com for any further assistance e-filing your extension forms.