Should I file an extension?
Yes, before the due date. Form 7004 gives business returns an automatic extension of generally 6 months; an individual with a Schedule C files Form 4868 and gets until October 15.
My taxes are due and my books aren't done. What do I do?
Excite Tax's answer for Utah owners: extend first; Form 7004 gives an S corporation or partnership 6 more months to file, not to pay, and interest runs from the original due date.
Short answers
Does an extension give me more time to pay?
No. Form 7004 does not extend the time to pay any tax due, and interest is charged from the regular due date until the tax is paid.
Do I need a separate Utah extension?
No form is needed: Utah gives an automatic extension of up to six months to file. An S corporation or partnership still must pay 100% of the tax due by the original due date.
What bookkeeping does tax season need?
Every account matched to its December statement, contractor totals for Form 1099-NEC, and payroll totals that agree with the Forms W-2. The full list is below.
Why shouldn't bookkeeping be pushed into Q1?
Because the first quarter is when the deadlines stack: Form 1099-NEC by January 31, Utah's W-2 filing the same day, and S corporation returns by the 15th day of the 3rd month.
Extend, pay an estimate, then finish
- Estimate the tax from the books as they stand. Rough is fine; zero is not.
- File the extension before the original due date.
- Pay the estimate by the original due date, federal and Utah.
- Finish and close the books.
- File the return from the finished books, inside the extension.
An extension buys time for the paperwork, not for the payment. Under the Form 7004 instructions, interest is charged from the regular due date even with an extension granted, so a low estimate costs interest on the difference.
What Utah wants by the original due date
Utah's extension is automatic and needs no form, but it has a price of entry. Individuals and corporations must prepay 90% of this year's Utah tax, or 100% of last year's, by the original due date; partnerships and S corporations must pay 100% of the tax due by then.
What bookkeeping does tax season need?
- Every bank, card and loan account matched to its December statement.
- Contractor payment totals, for the Forms 1099-NEC due January 31.
- Payroll totals that agree with the Forms W-2.
- Equipment and vehicle purchases listed separately from expenses.
- Owner draws, contributions and loans booked as such, not as income or expense.
Why the books shouldn't wait for Q1
January is already full. Form 1099-NEC is due January 31, and Utah wants the fourth-quarter and annual withholding return the same day. Books closed monthly reach January with most of the work done; books left for Q1 compete with every filing that depends on them.
When to hand this to a preparer
Hand it over once the books are closed and the return is the next step, or sooner if a deadline is inside a month.
Filing the extension itself is not a service Excite Tax lists yet; it goes in from whoever will sign the return, before the original due date.
Excite Tax prepares this; a licensed CPA at TBD CPA LLC reviews and signs the return.
Sources
- IRS, Instructions for Form 7004 (12/2025) · retrieved September 2026
- IRS, Get an extension to file your tax return · retrieved September 2026
- Utah State Tax Commission, Tax Relief & Extensions · retrieved September 2026
- IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (12/2026) · retrieved September 2026
- IRS, General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026) · retrieved September 2026
- Utah State Tax Commission, Withholding Tax · retrieved September 2026
- IRS, Instructions for Form 1120-S (2025) · retrieved September 2026
Ranked and explained on the sources page.