The United States is in one of the worst recessions in its history and its citizens are feeling the pain. With rising credit card delinquencies and bank foreclosures, taxes might be low on the list of concerns at the moment. Those that need more time to come up with their tax money may want to take a look at filing a tax extension to allow more time to pay their bills. So, how can you get an extension and how much might it cost you to delay?

Consumers can get an extension by filing Form 4868 with the IRS. Submitting Form 4868 by April 15th will give you an extension to October 15th to file your return. A late filing penalty will not be imposed if you fail to submit a payment with Form 4868, provided you make a good faith estimate of your liability based on information and paid 90%+ of the amount owed. The penalty is typically 0.5% of the unpaid tax per month.

Consumers who owe $10,000 or less and cannot pay their taxes may also want to consider filing a Form 9465 installment agreement. You must show that full payment cannot currently be made, and that in the previous five years you filed income tax returns and paid the tax, and did not enter into installment agreements during that period. The late penalty is also reduced to 0.25% from 0.5% per month. Combined, these are the options available to those who have trouble paying taxes.