If you filed a tax extension back in April, October 15 was the date it bought you, and that date has already passed. If your return is in and filed, good news — you’re done for this cycle, and you can skip straight to the next section. If it isn’t in yet, here’s what actually happens next, and it’s less dramatic than most people assume.
If you missed it
The penalty for filing late is 5% of the unpaid tax per month, capped at 25%. That’s steep, but it stops growing once you file, so the single most useful thing you can do is get the return in now rather than waiting until you feel “ready.” Every week you wait is a week the penalty keeps compounding.
A few things worth knowing if you’re in this spot:
If you paid what you owed back in April (even on an estimate) and the extension was just for the paperwork, your penalty exposure is much smaller — it’s underpayment that gets penalized hardest, not a late form by itself.
If this was a one-time slip and your filing history is otherwise clean, the IRS will sometimes waive the penalty through what’s called first-time abatement — it’s worth asking about rather than assuming you’re stuck with it.
If you’re not sure where things stand, that uncertainty is itself a reason to call now. We’d rather help you file a late return today than watch the penalty keep climbing while you wait for things to feel less stressful.
If you already filed: the real work starts now
Whether you filed in April, in the months since, or just made the October 15 deadline, this is the moment the calendar hands you something useful: ten weeks before December 31, with nothing else competing for attention. A few things worth doing before the year closes out, not after:
Equipment and purchases. If you’ve been putting off buying a vehicle, tools, or equipment for the business, the timing of that purchase can matter for this year’s return. Section 179 and bonus depreciation rules let a lot of businesses deduct the full cost in the year they place it in service, but only if it happens before December 31.
Retirement contributions. A SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) can meaningfully lower what you owe, and for many plans you have until your filing deadline next year to fund it, but you need to know now whether it’s part of the plan so the numbers line up.
Bookkeeping cleanup. This is the quiet one. If your books have drifted behind at any point this year, now is the cheapest time to fix it; a December scramble costs more in both stress and in missed deductions than catching it in November does.
The next estimated payment. If you pay quarterly, Q4 is due January 15. It’s easy to lose track of after the October deadline has your attention, so it’s worth putting on the calendar now rather than in January.
None of this needs to happen all at once, and it doesn’t need to happen alone. If you want a second set of eyes on where you stand before the year closes, that’s exactly what a year-end check-in is for.
FB Tax and Accounting Group is headquartered in Framingham, with offices across Massachusetts, serving businesses statewide — from restaurants and hotels to construction, trucking, janitorial, and real estate, and more. If you need help catching up on a late return or want a plan for the rest of the year, reach out at 508-789-8581 or 508-872-1651.
