[1]Colorado Extension applies to filing the information, not to payment
Denver, CO — If you can’t file your 2009 Colorado individual income tax return by Thursday, April 15, 2010, you may take advantage of the state’s automatic six-month extension of time to file. There is no form, paper or electronic, to fill out to notify the Department of Revenue that you are taking the extension.
The extension applies to filing Colorado income tax information, either on paper or electronically, not to any state income tax you may owe. If you expect to get a refund this year but do not make the April 15 filing deadline, you can still file your state income tax on or before Friday, Oct. 15, 2010.
But, if you owe state income tax, 90 percent of the tax liability must be paid on or before April 15 to avoid penalties. Any remaining balance due would be subject to interest only.
Individual taxpayers who owe state income tax have two options for making their payment:
§ Online Tax Payment by credit card or eCheck at www.Colorado.gov/paytax [2].
§ Mail in a check with the “2009 Extension Payment Voucher for Colorado Individual Income Tax” (DR 158-I). The voucher is on page 11 of the 2009 104 Colorado Form 104 income tax booklet. Visit our “Current Year Filng Forms: 2009” Web page through the Colorado Taxes Web site at www.TaxColorado.com [3] to obtain forms. To ensure your payment is credited to your account, we advise you to include your Social Security number(s) on the payment voucher. If you do not use the payment voucher, be sure to include your SSN(s) on the payment and indicate that the payment is for 2009 income tax. Otherwise, you may receive a nonfiler notice.
Mail the voucher to:
Colorado Department of Revenue
1375 Sherman St.
Denver, CO 80261-0008
If no payment is due, do not use Form DR 158-I. File the appropriate forms from the 104 book or through the e-filing options of your choice.
Penalty and interest charges on tax owed
If you pay at least 90 percent of the tax owed by the April 15 deadline you will avoid penalty charges.
· Those who pay less than the required 90 percent of the amount due on or before April 15 will be charged interest and penalty on the unpaid balance.
· If the payment is 90 percent or more of the amount owed you will be charged interest only — no penalty as long as the return and balance owed are sent by the October 15 extension deadline.
· The 90 percent amount applies to corporations as well as individuals. Corporations use the DR 158-C voucher to make their payment.
Penalty and interest rates
· Interest rate for 2010 is 6 percent on tax owed. A discounted rate of 3 percent is available if payment of tax, or agreement to pay, is made within 30 days of the April 15 deadline.
· Penalty is 5 percent of the balance due for the first month past the April 15 deadline plus 0.5 percent for each additional month up to a maximum of 12 percent.
For paper and electronic filing information or payment vouchers for C-corporations, estates and trusts, and partnerships and S-corporations, see the Colorado Taxes Web site at www.TaxColorado.com [3] Online Payment is available for corporations and partnerships at www.Colorado.gov/paytax [4]