Many people think that filing for a tax extension will red flag them for an audit. This cannot be farther from the truth. Millions of taxpayers receive extensions every year. The IRS does not have the resources to implement an auditing system for that demographic. What is likely to set off an audit are errors on the tax return, omissions, or claiming income and deduction levels that are inconsistent with each other.
The IRS makes provisions for tax extensions as a legitimate means for taxpayers and businesses to have additional time to file their taxes accurately. Maybe you put off doing your taxes until the last minute and then discovered that you can get a large refund by itemizing this year. Maybe your business has experienced some hard times and you do not have the office staff necessary to gather up the information to complete your return. Both of these are acceptable reasons for requesting an extension.
Filling out the extension form is very simple. Obtain IRS form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. The extension period is six months. This is the easy part.