Do Form 4868 and Form 7004 extend the time to pay?

Which form to use

A U.S. citizen or resident uses Form 4868 to request an automatic extension of time to file a U.S. individual income tax return, such as Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. You can also get that extension by paying online and indicating that the payment is for an extension, without filing a separate form.

Partnerships, S corporations and C corporations use Form 7004 for certain business income tax, information and other returns, including Form 1065, Form 1120-S and Form 1120. A disregarded single-member LLC does not use Form 7004 for its owner's income tax. That owner uses Form 4868 with Form 1040, unless the LLC has elected to be taxed as a corporation.

File the extension by the original due date

You must request the extension by the due date of the return. For a 2026 calendar-year Form 1065 or Form 1120-S, that date is March 15, 2027, which is a Monday. For a 2026 calendar-year Form 1040 or Form 1120, the IRS already prints April 15, 2027, which is a Thursday, as the deadline to file and pay. Form 7004 must be filed on or before the due date of the applicable return.

What the extension covers

The extension is only for filing your return. An extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. Payment for taxes you owe is due by the original filing deadline even if you get a filing extension. Form 7004 does not extend the time to pay any tax due.

A timely Form 7004 for a calendar-year Form 1065 or Form 1120-S gives an automatic 6-month extension of time to file, to September 15, 2027, which is a Wednesday. A timely Form 4868 for Form 1040, or a timely Form 7004 for a calendar-year Form 1120, extends the time to file to October 15, 2027, which is a Friday. The IRS individual pages say this gives you until October 15 to file, and already print April 15, 2027 as the original deadline.

Estimate the tax and pay what you owe

Estimate how much tax you owe and pay it by the original due date. The Form 7004 instructions say the extension will be granted if you complete the form properly, make a proper estimate of the tax where it applies, file by the return's due date, and pay any tax that is due. The current Form 4868 says you can still get the extension if you cannot pay the amount shown in full, but you should pay as much as you can to limit interest.

Automatic if you file properly

Form 4868 and Form 7004 are requests for an automatic extension. You do not have to explain why you are asking. The IRS will no longer send a notice that a Form 7004 extension has been approved, and will notify you only if the request is disallowed. Properly filing Form 7004 automatically gives you the maximum extension allowed from the due date of the return. The current Form 4868 says the IRS will contact you only if your request is denied, and will automatically process an extension when you pay part or all of your estimated income tax electronically.

Interest and penalties

Interest is charged on any tax not paid by the regular due date, from that date until the tax is paid, even if you have an extension. The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month, up to 25%. If you file after the extended due date, the failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the tax due, after amounts paid on time, for each month or part of a month, up to 25%. For a return required to be filed in 2027, the minimum late-filing penalty, if the return is more than 60 days late, is the lesser of $535 or 100 percent of the tax required to be shown on the return, from Rev. Proc. 2025-32 in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-45.

The current Form 4868 also describes a 90% rule: if at least 90% of the total tax is paid by the original due date, and the balance is paid with the return, the late-payment penalty may not apply. The Form 7004 instructions state a similar 90% rule for a corporation that has been granted an extension. Those are the rules as printed on the current form and instructions. Check those pages for the figure and the conditions that apply to your return.

Common questions

Does an extension give me more time to pay?

No. An extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. Pay what you owe by the original due date. Interest runs from that date even if you have an extension.

I have a single-member LLC. Do I file Form 7004?

Not if the LLC is disregarded for income tax purposes. Unless it has elected to be taxed as a corporation, the owner generally files Form 1040 and uses Form 4868, not Form 7004, for an extension of time to file.

What if I am out of the country on the due date?

A U.S. citizen or resident alien who is out of the country on the due date of a Form 1040 may have an automatic 2-month extension to file and pay, and still owes interest on tax not paid by the unextended due date. See IRS Topic no. 304 and Publication 54.

Is this tax advice?

No. It is general information from IRS pages checked on November 13, 2026. Rules change, so check the sources before you act.