How to Get a New York State Tax Extension

Living in New York can be pretty great. The Empire State has every kind of landscape you could want and easy proximity to New England, the rest of the Mid-Atlantic states, and even Canada. But in exchange, New Yorkers pay some of the highest income taxes in the nation. New York is ranked third for income taxes, according to TurboTax -- the highest state tax bracket (of nine) is 10.9% for tax year 2023. Plus, you'll pay additional local taxes if you live in New York City or Yonkers.

If you need some extra time to file your tax returns this year, read on. We'll take a look at how to get it for New York, as well as for your federal return.

Get more time for your New York State taxes

If you're worried about having to battle with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to get an extension, don't be. Getting extra time to complete your tax return is just a matter of filling in the right form before the deadline.

How much time you get (and when your return is actually due) varies depending on the type of return you'll be filing. An unincorporated business would need to file a partnership tax return, while estates and trusts file fiduciary tax returns. If you meet other special criteria, your filing deadline could be different.

The form to fill in for an extension is IT-370 if you're an individual filer, or IT-370-PF for partnerships or fiduciaries, and you can find both on the Department of Taxation and Finance website. They're short forms, too.

Don't forget to ask the IRS as well

It's also extremely easy to request an extension from the IRS for your federal tax return, so you might as well do that at the same time as when you ask New York State for one. Fill in Form 4868, and you'll be granted an additional six months to file your federal return. Your new deadline will be Oct. 15, 2024.

Need more time to pay?

If you get an extension on filing your tax return, it's important to remember that this doesn't give you extra time to pay any taxes you might owe for 2023. If you know you owe taxes to New York State or the IRS, you must make payments by April 15, 2024 (or whatever your original return due date is). If you don't, the penalties are the same for both -- 0.5% of the unpaid taxes for each month you are late, up to a maximum of 25% of the taxes you owe.

Thankfully, you can also apply for a payment plan if your tax bill is beyond what's currently in your checking account. For New York, you can request a payment plan through your Online Services account if you owe $20,000 or less (with 36 or fewer monthly payments). For the IRS, the amount owed to qualify for a payment plan online is higher ($50,000 or less for a long-term plan or $100,000 or less for a short-term plan) and you'll have to create an account with ID.me.

No one really enjoys paying taxes, but thankfully, the taxation agencies for states and the federal government are not the boogeymen they're made out to be. If you need more time for your return, or to get on a payment plan to fulfill your tax obligations, it's pretty easy and straightforward to ask for it.