How Much Does It Cost to File a Tax Extension?

Is filing a tax extension free?

Yes, a federal extension can be filed for free, but every free route covers individuals only.

• IRS Free File. Anyone, regardless of income, can e-file Form 4868 through IRS Free File. You prepare the request yourself in the partner software and receive an IRS acknowledgment.
• Pay and mark it as an extension. Pay all or part of your estimated balance through IRS Direct Pay, EFTPS, or a debit or credit card, choose "extension" as the reason, and the IRS treats the payment as your Form 4868. No form is filed. Direct Pay and EFTPS are free; card processors charge their own fee.
• Tax-software extensions. Some tax-software makers, such as TurboTax Easy Extension, file a basic Form 4868 at no charge.

None of these covers a business or nonprofit extension. IRS Free File does not include Form 7004 or Form 8868, and the IRS does not offer its own free e-file for either; they go through commercial tax software or an Authorized IRS e-file Provider. Mailing a paper Form 7004 or 8868 costs only postage, but the IRS sends no acknowledgment for a paper extension, so a lost or rejected request may not come to light until a penalty notice arrives with the late-filed return — or, if no return is filed, until the IRS's automated notices asking for one.

How much does Form 4868 cost?

Through IRS Free File, Form 4868 is $0. Paid extension services charged between $9.99 and $19.95 for a single Form 4868 as of October 2026, the higher figure being the entry tier of a tiered plan. One Form 4868 covers joint filers too; a spouse's SSN goes on the same form. We're focusing on business and nonprofit extensions this season, so we aren't filing Form 4868; the IRS's free options are the way to get one.

How much does Form 7004 cost?

Form 7004 is $9.95 with us, and there is no free IRS e-file route for it. Other paid services charged $9.99 to $24.95 or more per Form 7004 as of October 2026. One Form 7004 covers one return, whether that is Form 1120, 1120-S, 1065, 1041, or 1120-F, and the price is the same for each. A filer with two returns to extend, say a corporation and a trust, files two Forms 7004.

How much does Form 8868 cost?

Form 8868 is $9.95 with us. The paid services that offer it charged $14.95 to $14.99 per Form 8868 as of October 2026, and several low-priced filers do not offer it at all. A separate Form 8868 generally is required for each return being extended. Eligible returns include Forms 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T, 1041-A, 4720, 5227, 6069, and 8870 (an extension request for Form 8870 must be filed on paper). Form 5330 uses a separate discretionary extension procedure under Form 8868 rather than the automatic extension procedure. An organization that files both a Form 990 and a Form 990-T needs a separate Form 8868 for each, because extending the 990 does not extend the 990-T.

What do I get for a paid service?

You get the form prepared, e-filed, and acknowledged without buying tax software or setting up an account with the IRS. Specifically:

• Business and nonprofit forms. Forms 7004 and 8868, the forms the free options do not cover.
• The right form code. Form 7004 and Form 8868 must carry the code for the exact return being extended; the wizard maps your return type to the code.
• An IRS acknowledgment. We transmit directly to the IRS and email you when the extension is accepted, or rejected with the reason.
• Help with a rejection. If the IRS rejects the extension (a name that does not match the EIN (Employer Identification Number) or SSN on file is the usual cause), you correct it and we re-transmit at no additional charge.
• A refund if it cannot be accepted. If we cannot get the IRS to accept your extension, we refund the fee.
• Data handling. Your SSN or EIN is encrypted at rest, never stored in your browser, and shown only masked after filing.

Are there hidden fees?

No. The price you see before you pay is the whole price: no subscription, no tiers, no per-user or per-season charges, and no fee to re-transmit a corrected extension. Two things are not included because they are not part of a federal extension. The first is a state extension: we file federal only, and some states accept the federal extension automatically while others require their own form, so check with your state's revenue department. The second is the tax itself, covered next.

Is the IRS fee the same as the tax I owe?

No. There is no IRS fee for an extension; the only amount the IRS expects is your own tax, and you pay that to the IRS directly, not to us. When you file with GrantExtension, the wizard asks for your estimated total tax, the payments and credits you already have, and the resulting balance due. Those three figures are transmitted on the extension form itself. We do not collect, hold, or forward your tax payment; our checkout charges only the filing fee. Pay any balance to the IRS by the original due date through IRS Direct Pay, EFTPS, or a card processor. How to pay, and what happens if you cannot pay in full, is covered in does a tax extension give you more time to pay?

Which extension services do you compare?

We publish head-to-head comparisons with 7 paid extension services. The table lists each service's price for a single federal e-file as of October 2026, alongside ours.

Figures verified from each provider's site as of October 2026; tiered providers show their entry tier, and FileLater, which does not publish prices, shows the figure third-party listings report. Free options (IRS Free File, IRS Direct Pay, TurboTax Easy Extension) cover the simple Form 4868, and TurboTax also files Form 7004 free for S-corps and partnerships. Full roundup: the cheapest way to file a tax extension.

Which form do I need?

The extension form, and therefore the price, follows the return you file.

Every extension is due by the original due date of the return it extends. See the 2027 extension deadlines for the exact dates.

Tax extension cost FAQ

Sources

• IRS: Get an extension to file your tax return: IRS Free File with no income limit for extensions, and paying online as the extension
• IRS: E-file: Do your taxes for free: Free File handles Form 4868 extensions
• Form 4868, with its instructions (PDF): free e-filing of Form 4868 through Free File partners, joint filers on one form, and the electronic acknowledgment
• IRS: Payments: paying from a bank account is free; card payments carry fees
• IRS: Direct Pay with bank account: IRS Direct Pay is free
• IRS: EFTPS: The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System: EFTPS is free
• IRS: Pay taxes by card or digital wallet: card fees go to the processors
• Instructions for Form 7004: one Form 7004 per return, form codes, paper filing, and that the IRS writes only if it disallows an extension
• Form 7004 (PDF): the form codes for each business return
• Instructions for Form 8868: one Form 8868 per return, and paper filing
• Form 8868 (PDF): the returns Form 8868 covers