| Actually, you only need to pay your estimated taxes on time so that you do not owe any money to the IRS for the tax year; the IRS does not really care when you file as long as you timely fill out your extension Form 4868 and Form 2688 allowing you filing as late as until October 15th.
If you still owe money after Tax Day (April 15th), the IRS will charge you around 9% annual interest as well as a half percent penalty per month. If you did not bother to extend your tax filing, the IRS also will slap you with a steep late filing penalty of 5% per month, which tops out at 25%. Many people find that they owe tax on April 15th and don’t have the money to pay the bill. Should you just wait to file? NO! Always file on time, even if you cannot pay the tax.
When your tax return shows tax owed, you may have to pay a "failure-to-file" penalty if not filed within the time allowed, in addition to a "failure-to-pay" penalty, plus interest at the current IRS underpayment rates. The penalties are assessed on the taxes you owe, and every month the taxes go unpaid, the penalties and the interest will rack up.
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