6 Reasons You Should File an Extension for Your Taxes This Year

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For many investors, a deep rooted panic sets in the closer it gets to tax day. Maybe all of your tax documents haven’t arrived yet, or maybe one had a mistake. Maybe you can’t remember how much an improvement was on one of your rental properties, and the receipt is nowhere to be found.

Don’t worry. These are things that happen all the time! Your CPA, as well as the IRS, realize that not everyone can file by April 15^th, which is why tax return extensions exist. Some returns are quick and easy, without much going on and can easily be done by tax day. If you are a real estate investor, your return is probably not one of those. With rental properties, fix and flips, syndication deals, and the like, your returns are much more complicated and therefore may take a great deal more time, not only to prepare but to get your documents ready. If you feel like you’re rushing to get everything together for your taxes, then it may be a good idea to file an extension this year.

Please note that extensions are only for additional time to file. Taxes are still due on the original due date: March 15^th for Partnerships and S Corps, and April 15^th for individual returns. The best way to get this tax paid on time is to estimate what you will owe. Contact your CPA and ask them to prepare an extension payment calculation for you using the information that you have received so far. If you aren’t sure yet what your profit or loss will be from your rental properties, use an estimate along with the rest of your tax documents. If your extension payment ends up being more than you owe, then you can have the excess refunded when you file your returns.

Here are a few reasons why it may be in your best interests to file an extension this tax season.

6 Reasons You Should File an Extension for Your Taxes This Year

1. No Penalties for Filing Extensions

Extensions are legally allowed by the IRS, so use them to your benefit! As long as taxes are estimated and paid before the March and April due dates, you can extend your returns, penalty-free. Most states also accept the federal extension, so depending on where you need to file, one extension may extend every state that you need. Extending your Partnership or S Corporation gives you until September 15^th to file, and extending your personal return gives you until October 15^th.

Related: What Investors Should Know About Qualifying As a “Real Estate Professional” For Tax Purposes

2. Less Chance for Mistakes

Oftentimes tax documents arrive late. Your K-1 may finally arrive just days before you need to file your personal tax returns. Other times, you might receive your brokerage statement, only to find out weeks before tax day that they have issued you a corrected form.

If you have a new investment, maybe you’re not sure what documents you are supposed to receive. You don’t want to file too early if you will receive dividends or K-1s later on. When it comes to taxes, the longer you wait, the less chances there are for missing tax documents. If you miss a tax document, the error is fixable with an amended return, but this will probably be at an additional cost to you, as well as added IRS audit risk. So why not extend and make sure you don’t miss anything?

3. Time on Your Side

There is a bit of work that goes into getting your tax documents ready to hand over to your CPA, especially if you are a real estate investor—organizing your receipts, reviewing your books, and making sure that everything is accounted for in terms of expenses. Depending on how many activities, properties, and investments you have, it may take a significant amount of time. Why not give yourself a little extra time? Extending your returns will give you the additional time needed to ensure that your taxes are done correctly and that ALL of your tax deductions are captured so that you are getting the maximum refund possible.

4. Power of the Roth IRA

If you made a Roth IRA conversion in 2016, you have until the date you file your 2016 taxes to confirm or undo your Roth conversion. This gives you all the way up until October 15^th to monitor your investment performance during 2017 and determine whether or not the Roth conversion was beneficial to you. If your investments didn’t grow as well as you liked, you are able to undo the conversion and put the funds back into a traditional IRA at zero tax cost. This loophole is only available until the 2016 taxes are filed so you can give yourself more time if you file your taxes by the extended due date, October 15^th. Any later, and this perk is gone.

5. Retirement Planning

Traditional and Roth IRA contributions can only be made until April 15^th, but some plans can be extended all the way to September or October. If you plan on making any retirement contributions to accounts like SEP IRAs, 401ks, or SIMPLE IRAs to reduce your taxes, you may have up until the date you file your tax returns to make the contributions and still deduct it for the 2016 tax year. This can help you reduce your tax liability and give you additional time to gather funds for the contribution, if necessary. Depending on the type of legal entity as well as the type of retirement plan, extensions may allow you to defer certain 2016 retirement contributions to as late as September or even October 2017.

Related: How I Learned to Stop Avoiding Taxes — and Got the Best Deductions Yet

6. Multi-Year Planning

More time means more planning! If you file your taxes later in the year, then you have a better idea of where you stand for 2017. There may be opportunities to shift items between tax years to get the best tax savings. Some examples of potential strategies include changing accounting methods, making elections to carry-forward or carry-back certain losses, or taking advantage of the bonus depreciation or cost segregation for real estate. With a better idea of how the following year will turn out and what new tax laws will be, you can make better informed decisions.

Remember that extensions are there especially for investors like you. Don’t rush into filing if you don’t have to. Take the extra time to make sure you have everything you need to get all of the deductions you are entitled to. Don’t wait too long, though, or you may face another tax deadline in September or October—and that one does not have an extension. If you need to, make the choice to extend this year and get the most out of your deductions.

Do you plan on filing an extension this year? Why or why not?

Weigh in with a comment!

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.