Help Topics

Taxpayers who live outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico and whose main place of work is outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico already have an automatic 2-month filing extension. See the IRS Instructions for Form 4868 for more information.

You must attach a statement to your return explaining that you qualify for the automatic extension:

1. From within your TaxACT return (Online or Desktop) click the Federal Q&A tab
2. Click Miscellaneous Topics to expand the section, then click Additional Information for Electronic Filing
3. Click Explanation for Automatic 2 Month Extension for Taxpayers Out of Country
4. Enter an explanation that shows one of the following applies to you:
• You are living outside the United States and Puerto Rico and your main place of business or post of duty is outside the United States and Puerto Rico, or
• You are in military or naval service on duty outside the United States and Puerto Rico
5. Click Continue to attach the explanation to your return

Taxpayers in military service on duty outside the U.S should refer to IRS Publication 3 Armed Forces' Tax Guide for guidelines for the extension deadline.

If you qualify for the automatic 2-month extension but would like to request an additional four months by filing Form 4868, see Filing an Extension - Form 4868. To indicate that you are out of the country, check the box on the screen titled Form 4868 - Out of the Country. For this screen to appear, the date entered for Today's Date must be 4/16/2013 or later.