What happens if I file my Income Tax late?

Missed the deadline for filing your tax return? Here's what happens if you file your income tax return late

If your Income Tax is late, you will have to pay a fine, which will be issued in the same Program.

However, even if your declaration is late, you can still receive your refund (if applicable).

And if you still haven't submitted your document, see what to do to resolve the situation.

Who needs to file Income Tax 2022?

Not all Brazilians need to declare their income tax. 

In fact, only those who meet certain criteria need to fill out this document. In 2022, these criteria are:

• Have taxable income above R$ R$ 28,559.70 per year, or approximately R$ 2,380 per month, including salaries, pensions, retirement benefits and rent;

• Have non-taxable, exempt or taxed income at source exceeding R$40,000 (including FGTS, unemployment insurance, illness, inheritance and PLR);

• Obtain annual gross revenue from rural activity above R$ 142,798.50;

• Anyone who had capital gains from selling goods or rights subject to payment of income tax;

• Carry out operations on the stock exchange, commodities exchange, futures exchange and similar exchanges;

• Has assets or rights above R$300,000 on December 31, 2021.

Remember that to declare your income tax, you do not need to meet all the requirements. In fact, if you meet at least one of them, you need to file your tax return.

What happens if I file my Income Tax late?

As you already know, declaring your Income Tax is essential to avoid problems with the Federal Revenue Service.

If you are late with your Income Tax, the RF establishes a extra deadline for declarations that have not yet been submitted.

However, in addition to the income statement, you will need to pay a late fee.

Anyone who fails to submit the document within the established deadline is subject to paying a fine of at least R$165.74, which may reach up to R$20% of the amount due.

The fine is applied to both those who have tax to pay and those who have a refund to receive.

For those who will receive a refund, the fine corresponds to the minimum amount required, which, as we said, is R$ 165.74.

Taxpayers who have filed a late return will be notified of the fine as soon as they submit the late return and the Federal Revenue Collection Document (DARF) of the fine. The deadline for payment is 30 days.

Failure to do so will result in a fine.

Regarding the refund, if the fine is not paid within the deadline, the tax to be refunded will be discounted and with interest.

It is important to remember that in addition to having to pay the fine, taxpayers who do not file the declaration may have to deal with irregularities in their CPF.

How much will I have to pay for late Income Tax?

The fine amount is 1% per month on the tax due (the limit is 20%).

In other words, depending on the date on which you submit your late IR, you will need to pay an amount that starts at R$165 and can reach R$20% of the tax due.

How to declare late Income Tax?

Anyone who missed the deadline can file the declaration normally online, except if the delay is greater than five years.

If this is your case, you will have to go to the IRS in person to try to regularize the situation.

However, if the delay is more recent, you can resolve the situation through the RF website.

The procedure for filing a late Income Tax return is basically the same as filing within the deadline. However, those who did not file by the established date will be required to pay a late payment fine.

To begin, complete the declaration for the year in which the IR is late.

Enter the Federal Revenue program. On the home page, click on “New” and then on the “Annual adjustment statement” option.

It is also possible to start this process through the “Pre-Filled Declaration” or by importing the 2021 Declaration. However, if this does not apply to you, go to “Blank Declaration”.

Fill in all the necessary information. The platform will recognize the delivery made after the deadline and, therefore, will calculate the amount of tax due and the fine automatically.

Once you have filled everything out, submit the document.

Now, issue the DARF form for payment of the late payment fine. If the form expires without payment, interest will be charged until the amount is paid.

Remember, it is only possible to resolve the situation of overdue tax if you pay the fine due.

What is an Income Tax refund?

The IR refund is the return of the amount to be paid in excess in the IR declaration.

This means that if you overpaid, you have a balance to be refunded and can redeem it.

This is usually due to IR deductions, which can result in the balance to be paid being lower than that withheld at source.

The more deductible expenses you have, the greater the chances of receiving some amount at the end of the process.

Among those that fall into this category, we can mention expenses with education, health, private pensions, INSS contributions, among others.

Late Income Tax: Am I entitled to a refund?

After the filing period for declarations closes, the government will calculate whether taxpayers have paid what is due, whether they still owe money to the tax authorities, or whether they have paid more than they should have.

In the latter case, the Income Tax refund occurs. The refund is made in batches and on the IRS website, you can find out where the refund will come from.

Conclusion

Now that you know what happens if you file your Income Tax late, try to regularize your situation as quickly as possible.

To pay the fine, you will need to submit the declaration, even after the deadline. After submitting it, you will be notified about the payment of the fine, with the appropriate instructions on how to resolve the issue.

You have up to 30 days to pay the fine. If you do not pay, interest will be charged based on the Selic rate.