The clock is ticking with only hours left to file your taxes for 2024.

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For most states, tax returns must be filed by midnight on April 15 or an extension will have to be requested.

About a dozen states have an extended deadline due to natural disasters.

“The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area,” officials said. “These taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to get this relief.”

Some states will have a May 1 deadline, while others can file and pay by Oct. 15 or Nov. 3.

While the hours turn into minutes, and you don’t think you’ll be done, you can request an extension from the Internal Revenue Service to kick the proverbial can down the road to Oct. 15. You will need to fill out Form 4868 either online or by mail, postmarked today.

Even if you ask for an extension to file, you will still have to pay the bill by April 15 if you don’t want to pay penalties and interest.

“If you request an extension and expect to owe, it’s important to remember that it’s an extension of time to file, not an extension of time to pay,” H&R Block’s Andy Phillips said. “When you submit that extension, make sure you also make a payment of what you expect to owe to avoid penalties and interest.”

Even if you don’t owe but can’t get the paperwork completed in time, you should still file for an extension, TurboTax’s Lisa Greene-Lewis said.

“People that are getting a refund, they will not get those penalties,” she said. “You do still want to file an extension even if you’re going to get a refund because the IRS, they don’t know your deductions and credits.”

If you decide not to file or pay by today and not ask for an extension, there are penalties that are based on the tax liability. The penalties are automatically issued by the IRS with the failure-to-pay fine being half a percent of the unpaid tax per month up to 25%.

If you can’t pay the full tax bill, you can ask for an installment plan to reduce the penalty.

There is also interest tacked on the unpaid tax bill. It’s adjusted quarterly. Right now it is 7%.

The penalty for not filing on time without an extension starts immediately with 5% of the unpaid taxes for every month the return is late, with a maximum of 25%.

If it is more than 60 days late, the penalty can vary, with the minimum penalty found here.

As of the week ending April 4, which was the most current data provided by the IRS, 101,422,000 tax returns were received by the IRS or .4% fewer than last year at the same time.

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