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Which tax extension form do I need?

Businesses, estates and trusts extend their income tax return with Form 7004, tax-exempt organizations with Form 8868, and individuals with Form 4868. Answer two questions, who is filing and when its tax year ends, to see the form you need, the return it extends, and both deadlines, adjusted for weekends and holidays. No sign-up; it runs in your browser.

Last updated · Covers calendar and fiscal tax years

Find your extension form

1. Who is filing?
2. When does its tax year end?
Most businesses and almost all individuals use the calendar year. A fiscal year ends on the last day of another month.

You need Form 7004 to extend your Form 1120

For the tax year to (the 2026 calendar year), the next extension deadline that hasn’t passed.

Extension form
Form 7004, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns
Return it extends
Form 1120, U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return
File the extension by
The return’s original due date: the 15th day of the 4th month after the tax year ends.
Return due with the extension
6 months after the original due date.
Any tax owed is due
, extension or not. An extension gives you more time to file, not more time to pay: interest and the late-payment penalty run from the original due date on anything unpaid.
General information, not tax advice
This applies the IRS due-date rules to the answers above. It’s general information for planning, not tax advice or an IRS determination, and it doesn’t know about anything the two questions don’t ask, such as a short tax year or a disaster postponement.

We e-file Form 7004 for a flat $9.95, no subscription, and email you when the IRS accepts it.

Get notified when filing opensAbout Form 7004

Read next: C-corp extension guide · Form 7004 instructions

Which form extends which return?

The extension follows the return: Forms 1120, 1120-S, 1065 and 1041 use Form 7004, the 990 series uses Form 8868, and Form 1040 uses Form 4868. These are the 2027 dates for calendar-year filers (tax year 2026 returns):

Extension forms and 2027 calendar-year deadlines by return
ReturnFile the extension byExtended to
Form 1120 C corporations and LLCs taxed as one, via Form 70046 months
Form 1120-S S corporations and LLCs taxed as one, via Form 70046 months
Form 1065 Partnerships and multi-member LLCs, via Form 70046 months
Form 1041 Estates and trusts, via Form 70045½ months
Form 1041 Bankruptcy estates, via Form 70046 months
Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T Tax-exempt organizations and private foundations, via Form 8868May 15, 2027 is a Saturday6 months
Form 990-T Employees’ trusts and IRAs, via Form 88686 months
Form 1040 Individuals, sole proprietors and single-member LLCs, via Form 48686 months

Dates follow the IRS due-date rules, moved to the next business day when they fall on a weekend or legal holiday. The 990 row covers Form 990-T filed by any organization other than an employees’ trust or an IRA.

An LLC files whichever return matches how it’s taxed: Form 1065 by default with two or more members, Form 1120 or 1120-S if it elected to be taxed as a corporation, and no income tax return of its own with one member and no election, because its income goes on the owner’s return. See the LLC extension guide.

How do fiscal-year deadlines work?

The same rules count from your own year-end. The return and the extension request are due the 15th day of the 3rd month after the tax year ends for partnerships and S corporations, the 4th month for C corporations, estates, trusts and individuals, and the 5th month for tax-exempt organizations (the 4th for a Form 990-T from an employees’ trust or an IRA). The extension is the same length as for a calendar year.

One exception applies to C corporations with a June 30 year-end: for a tax year that began before January 1, 2026, the return is due the 15th day of the 3rd month and Form 7004 extends it 7 months. Tax years beginning in 2026 or later follow the general rule. The tool applies both. More in the fiscal-year deadline guide.

What does the tool leave out?

It answers for the common income tax returns and 12-month tax years. These cases work differently:

A foreign corporation (Form 1120-F)

It also uses Form 7004. A foreign corporation with no office or place of business in the United States files by the 15th day of the 6th month after its tax year ends, not the 4th.

Books and records kept outside the United States

Certain partnerships and domestic and foreign corporations get an automatic extension of time to file and pay, to the 15th day of the 6th month after the year ends, without filing a form (Regulations section 1.6081-5). For more time to file after that, Form 7004 with the line 4 box checked adds 3 months for partnerships and S corporations, or 4 months for C corporations.

U.S. citizens and residents living abroad

An individual who lives and works outside the United States and Puerto Rico gets 2 extra months to file and pay without asking, to June 15, 2027 for a calendar-year 2026 return, although interest still runs from the April date. Form 4868 with the “out of the country” box checked adds 4 more months.

Short tax years

A first year, a final year or a change in accounting period follows the same rule, counted from the last day of the short year. A C corporation’s short year that ends any time in June is treated as ending June 30.

Disaster postponements

When the IRS postpones deadlines for a federally declared disaster area, the postponed dates apply instead. The tool uses the regular dates.

Other returns these forms extend

Form 7004 also extends returns such as Forms 1120-C, 1120-POL, 1042 and 706-GS(T), and Form 8868 also extends Forms 4720, 5227 and 5330. Their due dates follow their own rules, so the tool leaves them out.

Extension form FAQ

Which extension form does my business need?

Form 7004, for a C corporation (Form 1120), an S corporation (Form 1120-S), a partnership or multi-member LLC (Form 1065), or an estate or trust (Form 1041). Tax-exempt organizations use Form 8868 instead, and individuals, sole proprietors and single-member LLCs extend their Form 1040 with Form 4868.

Which extension form does an LLC use?

It depends on how the LLC is taxed. A multi-member LLC is a partnership by default and files Form 7004 to extend Form 1065. An LLC taxed as a C or S corporation files Form 7004 to extend Form 1120 or 1120-S. A single-member LLC with no election is disregarded: its income goes on the owner's return, so an individual owner extends Form 1040 with Form 4868.

Do nonprofits use Form 7004?

No. Forms 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF and 990-T are extended with Form 8868, which gives an automatic six-month extension. Each return needs its own Form 8868, so extending Form 990 does not extend Form 990-T.

When is a tax extension due in 2027?

By the original due date of the return. For calendar-year 2026 returns: March 15, 2027 for Forms 1065 and 1120-S; April 15, 2027 for Forms 1120, 1041 and 1040; and May 17, 2027 for the 990 series. A fiscal year counts from its own year-end.

Does an extension give me more time to pay?

No. It extends the time to file only. Tax owed is due by the original due date, and interest and the late-payment penalty run on anything unpaid from that date.

Can one extension cover my business and my personal return?

No. Each return needs its own extension: a Form 7004 for each business return, a Form 8868 for each exempt-organization return, and a Form 4868 for your Form 1040.

Is the tool's answer tax advice?

No. It applies the IRS due-date rules to the two answers you give, as general information for planning. It isn't tax advice or an IRS determination, and it doesn't account for situations it doesn't ask about, such as a short tax year, a disaster postponement or books kept outside the United States. For advice on your own situation, talk to a tax professional.

Link to this tool

Writing about tax extensions? You’re welcome to link to this page. Copy the HTML below, or use “Copy link to this answer” in the tool to point readers at a specific case, such as a nonprofit with a June 30 year-end.

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To cite it: GrantExtension, “Which tax extension form do I need?,” https://grantextension.com/which-tax-extension-form.

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Related: Extension deadlines · Fiscal-year deadlines · LLC extensions · Penalty calculator

Disclaimer: the tool’s answers are general information for planning, based on the IRS due-date rules, the answers you give and the limits described above. They are not tax, legal or accounting advice and not an IRS determination; the IRS decides whether an extension or a return is on time. The tool is provided as is, without any warranty of accuracy or completeness, and to the fullest extent permitted by law we are not liable for any tax, penalty, interest or other loss from relying on it. See our Terms of Service.