The reality is, filing taxes late can have serious consequences, and what happens if you file taxes late largely depends on whether or not you owe the IRS money—or you’re even required to file (more on that later).
If you owe them money, then what will happen is that the IRS will send you a notice asking for payment and detail the penalties and interest you owe with an explanation of what those fees are.
A tax return is an annual federal financial report that assembles and reports tax payments, tax deductions, credits, and income received for money earned during the prior calendar year (or tax year).
Preparing your tax return can range from incredibly simple with a Form 1040 only listing your income, standard deduction, and pertinent personal information to extremely complicated with the need for hiring a tax professional.
This is especially the case if you have self-employment or freelance business income, make contributions to an IRA, or seek to add additional schedules for reporting more complex passive income investments or tax positions.
If you still aren’t convinced filing a return is the right move, I’ll really need to lean in and hammer home the fear because not filing a return will get costly and fast.
First things first. You’re going to get hit with penalties and interest. If you didn’t expect that right off the bat, you don’t know the federal government. These disincentives usually are enough to entice most to file a return without a fight.