Need an extension on your business taxes? IRS Form 7004 can help.
Running a business is hard enough without having to worry about saving up to pay your taxes at the end of the year (if only Uncle Sam took a break).
Fortunately, if you need a little time, the IRS allows you to file an extension on your business taxes using Form 7004.
And, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear, it’s super simple and largely straightforward to fill out and file (hurray).
What is the purpose of Form 7004?
IRS Form 7004 is officially dubbed the “Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns.”
To put that in plain English: it helps you file for an extension on your business taxes.
If accepted, it allows you to pay your business taxes at a later date than that year’s tax due date.
How long is the extension for Form 7004?
How long then is the extension you get through filing Form 7004?
According to the IRS, properly filling out Form 7004 will automatically grant you the maximum extension, which is typically 6 full months.
It’s important to note, however, that this 6-month period starts from the date of your return and not the date you filed the extension. So, keep that in mind.
How to fill out Form 7004: Step-by-step instructions
Now, let’s talk about how to fill out Form 7004.
As we touched on above, filling out Form 7004 is pretty simple and straightforward and only involves a total of 8 lines of information, the 1st and 6th-8th lines being the really important ones for most people.
Here’s the full Form 7004, which you can get here:
Now, let’s break this into 3 sections:
1. Enter your basic information
First, enter your basic information at the top of the form, including name and current business address:
Once you’re done with that, it’s time to get to the gritty details…
2. Part 1: Notate which business taxes you’re requesting an extension for
Now, it’s time to notate exactly which returns you’re requesting an extension on.
It’s not enough to simply state that you’d like an extension on “your taxes”, the IRS needs to know details, of course.
So, let’s do that now.
Take a glance at the key in the middle of the page and find the code number that matches the return you’re requesting an extension for. Fill that in on line 1:
That’s the most important part of the form and already tells the IRS generally what it needs to know. Simple, right? (‘IRS’ and ‘simple’ in the same sentence– who would’ve thought.)
However, there are a few important details to check off before you’re done…
3. Part 2: Additional details
Part 2 finishes off Form 7004 with several additional details. Let’s start by filling out lines 2, 3, 4, 5a, and 5b:
Information to enter for part 2, lines 2-5:
- Line 2: Check only if you’re requesting an extension for a foreign corporation (which has no office in the U.S.)
- Line 3: If you’re not a corporation that is part of a consolidated group, don’t worry about this line. If you are, you must be a common parent or agent of the group to complete the form.
- Line 4: If you don’t know what regulation 1.6081-5 is, skip this line.
- Line 5a: Fill in your current tax year dates if you do not use a calendar year.
- Line 5b: Fill in the reason for this shortened tax year (if 5a was applicable to you)
Lines 6-8
Last is lines 6-8, where you’ll fill in your total amounts. Keep in mind that no signature is required for Form 7004, so if it looks a little odd that the form ends abruptly, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to look:
Information to enter for part 2, lines 6-8:
- Line 6: Your tax total. This is the amount you expect to owe this tax year.
- Line 7: Enter your total payments, including refundable credits.
- Line 8: Next, you simply subtract line 7’s total from line 6 and enter this in line 8.
How to file Form 7004
Filing Form 7004 is about as simple and straightforward as filling it out.
For most returns, Form 7004 can be filed electronically and requires no special action on your part. However, there are exceptions.
According to the IRS official Form 7004 page, “Form 7004 cannot be filed electronically for Forms 8612, 8613, 8725, 8831, 8876, or 706-GS(D).”
For more information on filing Form 7004 electronically, see instructions here: IRS.gov/efile7004.
Form 7004– Complete!
Form 7004 is, thankfully, pretty simple and straightforward.
However, keep in mind that there are certain important details that may be relevant to you in terms of how you’ll fill out the form. For that reason, if you believe you might qualify for any kind of special circumstance, you should take the time to look around the IRS’s official Form 7004 instructions page to be safe.
