The IRS Strongly Recommends E-filing Of Tax Extensions
The onset of COVID-19 has caused many changes and adaptations across the largest organizations in the world, the IRS is no exception. In the past few months, the IRS has made some unprecedented decisions.
First, they extended the deadlines for an array of different IRS Tax Forms, then they began to limit and change their normal operations. To ensure that tax forms continue to be processed at a normal pace, the IRS is strongly recommending filing these forms electronically, for some tax forms they are even mandating it.
Why does the IRS prefer e-filing?
The IRS has been accepting paper tax forms by mail since it first opened its doors, so why make this decision? The answer is to increase efficiency. The IRS has encouraged electronic filing for years, now that they have had to limit their normal operations due to COVID-19, they are requiring it for some forms.
For the safety of their staff and in accordance with the CDC guidelines the IRS has limited the number of staff members working on site and mail processing has slowed dramatically.
What are the benefits of e-filing?
Filing electronically is an easy way for all filers to increase the security and accuracy of their tax filing. The reason that the IRS prefers e-filing to paper filing is because there are many advantages to using this method. Did you know that 20% of paper filed tax returns have mistakes? That’s a pretty high percentage compared to electronic forms, only 1% of these contain errors.
If that isn’t reason enough, think about security. Placing your sensitive information in an envelope and sending it through the mail just isn’t safe enough these days, especially if you have included a tax payment. Making your tax payment using electronic funds transfer is much safer, and you will know instantly that the payment has been received by the IRS.
What about IRS Tax Extensions?
So, what about filing an extension? IRS Tax Extensions should certainly be e-filed as well to ensure that they are received and approved by the IRS. If your extension form is sitting in a pile of mail of unprocessed mail, there is no guarantee that it will be processed before your original deadline, therefore you could be facing penalties and fees from the IRS.
If you are considering filing any of the following extension forms to extend your July 15, 2020 deadline, e-filing is your best option.
- Form 7004 for business income tax returns
- Form 4868 for personal income tax returns
- Form 8868 for tax exempt organizations’ annual returns
The ExpressExtension solution…
ExpressExtension makes filing a breeze with an easy-to-follow, interview style process. Once your extension form is completed we transmit it straight to the IRS for instant approval. This is an automatic extension, so once it reaches the IRS, you are good to go!
If your form is by some chance rejected by the IRS, ExpressExtension allows you to correct and retransmit your form for no additional charge. You can make your tax payment securely as well via Electronic Funds Withdrawal (EFW) or the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). With ExpressExtension you can file your extension with confidence!
