What's the penalty and interest rate for paying half my taxes just 1 day late?

The good news is that a one-day late payment isn't going to break the bank! The IRS doesn't actually charge the full 8% immediately - that's the maximum rate for certain situations. For late payment of taxes, the penalty is typically 0.5% of the unpaid tax amount per month (or partial month) the tax remains unpaid. Even though you're only late by one day, the IRS counts partial months as full months for penalty purposes, so you'd be charged 0.5% on the unpaid portion ($6k). Interest is separate from penalties and currently runs around 8% annually, but it's calculated daily. So for one day, you'd pay approximately 8% ÷ 365 = 0.022% for that single day on the unpaid amount. So rough math: $6,000 × 0.5% = $30 for the late payment penalty, plus $6,000 × 0.022% = $1.32 for one day's interest. Total around $31.32.

I dealt with a similar situation last year and used taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to help me figure out the exact penalties and interest I was facing. I was confused about all the different rates and wasn't sure if I should request a payment plan instead. The tool analyzed my situation and showed me the actual numbers I was looking at for different payment timeframes. It helped me realize that paying even a week late wasn't going to be as catastrophic as I thought. I ended up making a partial payment and then paying the rest a few days later. Their calculator was way more helpful than my random Google searches that were giving me contradictory information about penalties.

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai after I tried it. I was really surprised at how helpful it was! I had a slightly more complicated situation than just being a day late - I had multiple estimated tax payments that were late by different timeframes. The tool broke down exactly what I would owe in penalties and interest for each payment, and even showed me how to request a first-time penalty abatement for the largest amount. It saved me from panicking and filing an installment agreement request that I didn't actually need. Definitely worth checking out if you're trying to figure out exactly what penalties you're looking at. The peace of mind alone was worth it for me.

If you're having trouble getting clear answers about your penalties, I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually connect with an IRS agent directly. I spent DAYS trying to get through on the IRS phone lines and kept getting disconnected after hours on hold. Finally tried Claimyr and got connected to an IRS rep in about 20 minutes. The agent was able to tell me exactly what penalties would apply in my situation and even processed a penalty abatement request for me right on the call because I had a good payment history. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c It's especially helpful for these penalty questions because different IRS departments sometimes give different answers, and having someone look at your actual account is way more accurate than trying to guess.

I have to eat crow on this one. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr just to prove it wouldn't work. I was 100% wrong. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 25 minutes. The agent confirmed exactly what others have said here - for a one-day late payment, you'd face a 0.5% penalty on the unpaid amount (because they count partial months as full months) plus daily interest. But they also told me something important - if you've never had penalties before, you can request a "First Time Abatement" and get the penalties (but not interest) removed. I ended up using that advice for my own situation where I had a penalty from a late filing last year, and they approved the abatement right on the call. Saved me $430.

One thing nobody mentioned yet - if you can show reasonable cause for the late payment, you might get the penalties removed entirely. But "I don't have the money" usually doesn't count as reasonable cause. Better options would be: - Set up an IRS payment plan today for the full amount - Pay by credit card (their fee is usually less than the penalties) - Borrow from family for 24 hours Not having all the money today is a common problem, but the IRS has heard every excuse. The payment plan might be your best bet if you really can't pay the full amount.

Just as a data point - I paid about 3 days late last year (around $8,000 unpaid) and my total penalties and interest came to $42. They did charge the full month's penalty rate even though it was only 3 days late. I called and asked for abatement since I've never been late before, and they approved it immediately. Took like 5 minutes on the phone once I finally got through.