Filing Extension 7004 for S Corp without knowing exact tax numbers

I'm totally freaking out right now. I need to file a 7004 extension for my small business (LLC taxed as an S Corp) but I'm in a complete mess with my bookkeeping right now. Last year was super complicated financially - had some client issues, changed our service model, and honestly my record keeping hasn't been great. The deadline is coming up fast and my books are nowhere near complete for the year. I'm wondering if I can just submit the 7004 extension using my numbers from last year? Or maybe just put in my best guesstimate of taxes paid/owed? From what I can tell, I should be in a refund situation again like last year (thank god), but I'm not 100% sure. Anyone else been in this boat with filing extensions without having accurate numbers yet? Really appreciate any advice!

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21 comments

Fatima Al-Rashid

•8M

You're in luck - Form 7004 for an S Corporation doesn't actually require you to include any payment or even estimate what you might owe. The 7004 just gives you the automatic 6-month extension to file. Keep in mind that this is only an extension to file your forms, not an extension to pay any taxes due. However, since you're an S Corp, the business itself doesn't typically pay federal income tax - the income passes through to your personal return. The S Corp would only owe taxes if you have certain specific situations like built-in gains tax or excess net passive income tax, which most small S Corps don't encounter. The most important thing is to file the extension on time to avoid the late filing penalty. You can file it electronically through the IRS e-file system or mail in the paper form.

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Fatima Al-Rashid

•8M

Yes, you can submit Form 7004 without any payment or estimates for your S Corp. This gives you until September 15th to get your books in order and file your actual S Corp return (Form 1120-S). For California, you'll need to file Form 100-ES for your S Corp extension. California's system works similarly to the federal one for S Corps - filing the extension form automatically gives you the additional time (also until September 15th). Like the federal extension, it's just an extension to file, not to pay, but since the income passes through to shareholders, the corporation itself usually doesn't have a payment due with the extension.

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Giovanni Rossi

•8M

I was in the exact same messy situation last year with my consulting business (also an S Corp). After weeks of stress, I finally found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which literally saved me. Their AI analyzes all your financial documents and organizes everything for tax purposes - even incomplete records. I uploaded all my bank statements, receipts, invoices (even the disorganized ones) and it sorted everything into the proper tax categories. It found deductions I would have missed and helped me figure out exactly where I stood with estimated taxes. Made filing my extension way less stressful because I at least had an accurate picture of my situation. It might help you get a clearer picture quickly before you submit your extension, especially if you're worried about whether you'll actually be in a refund situation or not.

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Giovanni Rossi

•8M

It does work with QuickBooks data! You can export your QB data and upload it, and the system will help fill in the missing pieces. It's especially good at reconciling and finding discrepancies, so it should help with those unreconciled months without starting over. For accuracy concerns, I was skeptical too initially. What made the difference is that taxr.ai uses a combination of AI and tax professionals who review the outputs. The accuracy was actually impressive - it correctly categorized about 95% of my transactions right off the bat. For the remaining items, it flagged them for my review with suggestions. It definitely saved me time compared to manually sorting through everything, especially since my record keeping was... let's just say less than ideal.

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KylieRose

•8M

I need to admit I was totally wrong about AI tax tools. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try taxr.ai just to prove it wouldn't work for my situation (I'm also an LLC/S-Corp with messy books). I was honestly shocked. It processed 8 months of uncategorized transactions in about 30 minutes, found several thousand in deductible expenses I had completely forgotten about, and gave me a really clear picture of my tax situation. I was actually able to file my extension with confidence knowing exactly where I stood. The business expense categorization was almost perfect - it even correctly identified my weird industry-specific expenses that usually confuse my accountant. If you're in a time crunch with messy books like I was, it's definitely worth checking out.

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Miguel Hernández

•8M

If you're struggling to get answers from the IRS about extension requirements for your S-Corp, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent DAYS trying to get someone on the phone at the IRS to confirm some specific details about my S-Corp extension. With Claimyr, I got through to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically hold your place in the IRS phone queue and call you when an agent is about to answer. The agent I spoke with confirmed that for S-Corps, the 7004 doesn't require any payment estimate and walked me through some specific questions I had about my situation. Saved me a ton of stress and uncertainty.

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Miguel Hernández

•8M

It's not a special connection to the IRS - they use technology to navigate the IRS phone trees and wait on hold so you don't have to. When they're about to connect with an agent, they call you and connect you directly. It's basically a sophisticated hold service. Regarding whether IRS agents can answer S Corp questions - I specifically asked about Form 7004 requirements for S Corps and the agent was able to confirm exactly what I needed to know. I think it depends on the agent you get, but in my case, they were knowledgeable about business tax issues. It saved me hours of research and uncertainty, which was well worth it for me when I was facing a deadline.

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Liam Murphy

•8M

I need to publicly eat my words. After being completely skeptical about Claimyr, I decided to try it as a last resort yesterday when I realized I had a specific question about my S-Corp extension that I couldn't find a clear answer to online. The service actually got me connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes (I've NEVER gotten through in less than 2 hours before). The agent confirmed that my S-Corp extension didn't need estimated payments and gave me specific guidance on some unusual deductions I was unsure about. For what it's worth, the agent told me that for S-Corps, they don't even really look at the payment section of Form 7004 since the liability passes through anyway. Just having that confirmation directly from the IRS gave me peace of mind to file my extension without worrying. I'm honestly still surprised this actually worked.

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Amara Okafor

•8M

Your personal extension (Form 4868) gives you until October 15th to file your individual return, not September. So you'll have until September 15th to get your S Corp return finished, and then another month to complete your personal return that includes the S Corp income. Just remember that if you think you'll owe taxes on your personal return, you should make an estimated payment with your 4868 extension to avoid potential penalties. The S Corp extension (7004) doesn't need payment, but the personal one might, depending on your situation.

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