Extension Of Time To File: Fill & Download for Free

If you anticipate that you will not be able to file your return by its due date, you need to file Form 4868 to request an extension. You do not need an ITIN to file Form 4868, and you can include a payment with Form 4868. If you do not have your ITIN in time to file your return on time, your only option is to file Form 4868, along with a payment of your estimated tax liability. All of the other available methods for making a prepayment of tax liability require an SSN or ITIN.Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax ReturnDo not use Form 1040-V. Form 1040-V is only used when you submit a payment by check either at the same time you file an individual return or after you have filed an individual return. If you send the IRS a check along with a Form 1040-V without a return having been filed, your check will get thrown into a pile of “weird stuff that we have to figure out what to do with” and will get processed days or even weeks later, and you may be liable for penalties and interest if the delay in processing results in your account being credited after the date on which payment was required. Furthermore, you need an SSN or ITIN to file Form 1040-V.

Whether you have the ability to pay is irrelevant to when you must file your tax return. You must file either a tax return or a request for an extension prior to the due date for your return, which for most individual returns in 2018 is April 17th. You are also required to pay all tax due prior to that date. The obligation to file is independent from the obligation to pay, and so by filing on time you avoid the penalty for failing to file on time. While filing a extension allows you more time to file a timely return, filing an extension does not extend the due date for payment of tax. Your unpaid tax balance will remain due on April 17th.If you cannot pay, you should file a return (or extension) without payment, or with whatever payment you can afford, on or prior to the due date. The IRS will bill you for the unpaid portion and will likely offer to set up a payment plan. You will be assessed interest on the unpaid portion and may also be assessed penalties for failing to pay on time, but you will at least not be assessed any penalties for failing to file on time. Whether you file return without payment or an extension without payment will not ultimately affect the penalties and interest imposed.Simply put, it’s much better to file on time without paying than it is to not file on time (or at all). You at least avoid the penalty for failing to file a timely return, which is typically much larger than the penalty for failing to pay on time.

Yes, you absolutely need to file. Pretty much any US citizen or permanent resident making substantial amounts of money needs to file, regardless of where in the world they earned the incomeYou mention the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. Unfortunately for you, this does not apply to anyone who physically resides in the United States. It's actually far more likely that you qualify to avoid paying taxes in the UK as a nonresident, but I am far from an expert on British taxation.The good news is that the US and the UK have a tax treaty to avoid double taxation. The bad news is that you may be liable for penalties since you haven't been making any interim payments to either the IRS or California's Franchise Tax Board. (I don't know if it's still true, but it used to be that the FTB was far worse to deal with than the IRS.)You should find a U.S. tax expert who deals with foreign nationals. As you probably know, American taxes are due on April 15th. So, it'd be best if you can find someone very quickly to get in an extension for time to file. If you can't find someone, which is possible since this is tax experts' busiest time of the year, then you should consider filling out Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return yourself so you can at least avoid late-filing penalties.