IRS Late Filing and Late Payment Penalty Calculator

How much are the IRS penalties for filing or paying late?

The failure to file penalty applies if you do not file your tax return by the due date, including extensions. The failure to pay penalty applies if you do not pay the tax when due.

Penalty estimator

Estimate your late filing and late payment penalties

For an individual Form 1040 return.

1. The original due date of the return, without any extension

If you got an extension to file: the extended due date (optional)

2. The date you filed (leave blank if not filed yet)

3. Tax you owed on the due date, after withholding, estimated payments and credits

4. The date you paid it in full (leave blank if not paid yet)

Estimate only. It assumes the amount you owed stayed the same until paid in full, and your IRS notice controls. Penalty relief may lower or remove these amounts. Terms and disclaimer

Filing late

The failure to file penalty applies if you do not file your tax return by the due date, including extensions. It is 5% of the tax due, less tax paid on time and credits, for each month or part of a month the return is late, up to 25%. If the return is more than 60 days late, there is a minimum penalty: a set dollar amount or 100% of the unpaid tax, whichever is less. For a Form 1040 return due after December 31, 2025, the set amount is $525, and it is lower for returns due in earlier years.

Paying late

The failure to pay penalty applies if you do not pay the tax when due. It is 0.5% of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month the tax stays unpaid, up to 25%. The IRS charges a full month even if you pay in full before the month ends. If you filed on time as an individual and have an approved payment plan, the failure to pay penalty drops to 0.25% per month while the plan is in effect. If you do not pay within 10 days after a notice of intent to levy, the failure to pay penalty rises to 1% per month.

When both apply

If both penalties apply in the same month, the failure to file penalty is reduced by the failure to pay penalty for that month, for example 4.5% instead of 5%. That reduction cannot take the failure to file penalty below the minimum for a return more than 60 days late. After 5 months the failure to file penalty stops growing, but the failure to pay penalty continues.

What the estimate leaves out

The IRS also charges interest on penalties. For tax you did not report on your return, the failure to pay penalty runs from the due date on the IRS notice instead.

Penalty relief

Failure to file and failure to pay penalties can qualify for relief, including first-time abatement and reasonable cause. The IRS says first-time abatement is moving to a new automatic relief starting in summer 2026.

Sources

Checked October 26, 2026.