The late American essayist and psychologist Og Mandino is quoted as saying “There is an immeasurable distance between late and too late.” If you haven’t filed your 2014 taxes or filed for an extension by today, April 15, 2015, act now or it may be too late!

If you missed today’s deadline to file your taxes, you still have time to file an extension online. An extension actually pushes back your tax filing deadline from April 15 to October 15, 2015 — 6 whole months! However, extending your time to file does NOT extend your time to pay if you owe Uncle Sam.

To file an extension and estimate of how much you may owe, download Form 4868.

If you use TurboTax, you can complete the form online and send the payment with your Form. Otherwise, you can pay directly from your bank account or with a debit or credit card at IRS Direct Pay.

But what if you’re getting a refund? Do you still need to meet these deadlines? One of the IRS’s dirty little secrets is that if you have a refund coming then there is no penalty for missing the deadline, even if you don’t ask for an extension. The penalty for filing late is a percentage of the tax owed, and 100% of $0 is still $0. Before you relax, however, if you owe Ohio state tax, you must pay even with the extension.

What if you owe but can’t pay? You may be able to get a 6 month extension, but the rules are strict and the IRS requires some form of security like a bond or lien. Try to avoid this alternative if at all possible.

In closing, we’ll leave you with another quote, this time from the beloved Ben Franklin: “Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.” Happy Tax Day.