Massachusetts gives its residents 6 extra months to file a state return, but only if at least 80% of the year’s state tax has already been paid by the April deadline. A resident who sent the IRS a Form 4868 on time but had paid less than 80% of the 2025 Massachusetts tax had no state extension at all, and the state charged late-filing penalties from the original due date once the return went in. In 2026, 9 states had no broad individual income tax to extend, and each of the others set its own extension terms.
Automatic Extensions Without a Form
California’s Franchise Tax Board grants an automatic extension to October 15 with no application, although the state wanted any 2025 balance paid by April 15, 2026. A Californian who owes nothing extra needs to do nothing for the state beyond filing by October.
Iowa individual returns are due April 30, and a taxpayer who has paid at least 90% of the year’s Iowa tax by that date receives an automatic extension to October 31. The federal extension has no effect for Iowa purposes. A resident below the 90% mark has no extension, and penalty and interest accrue from April 30.
Virginia extends every individual return automatically by 6 months, to November 1 for calendar-year filers. The state’s original due date is May 1, and the extension is valid only if at least 90% of the tax was paid by that day. Virginia’s Form 760IP is a payment voucher for anyone sending money by May 1, and the state does not require it to obtain the extension.
State Acceptance of Form 4868
Illinois grants an automatic 6-month extension to every individual and, when the IRS allows more than 6 months, matches the longer federal period. Any tax owed to Illinois is still due by April 15, paid with Form IL-505-I.
Pennsylvania accepts the federal form as its own request and asks for its separate Form REV-276 only from taxpayers who owe Pennsylvania tax or who have no federal extension. Georgia sets 2 conditions in its instructions. The return must arrive within the period the IRS allowed, and a copy of the federal extension has to be attached to it. A Georgia filer without a federal extension uses state Form IT-303 instead, and neither route extends the time to pay Georgia tax.
Separate State Forms
New York’s Form IT-370 extends a state return to October 15. It has to be submitted separately from any online federal extension filing, because the state does not accept a copy of Form 4868 in its place. The IT-370 instructions also require full payment of the properly estimated balance for the extension to take effect.
The IRS grants the federal extension regardless of the amount paid with it and charges interest and a monthly penalty on any shortfall, while New York makes the extension itself depend on the payment.
Payment Thresholds and Penalties
In Massachusetts, the 80% threshold counts withholding, timely estimated payments, credits and any overpayment applied from the prior year, and it includes the 4% surtax on high incomes. When those amounts already reach 80%, the extension is automatic and no filing is required. Below that level, the state requires an extension payment, and anyone who needs to pay $5,000 or more to qualify has to pay electronically. A request with no payment attached does not count.
In Virginia, a taxpayer who files within the extension period but paid less than 90% by May 1 owes an extension penalty of 2% per month on the unpaid balance, up to 12%. Tax paid after the return is filed adds a late-payment penalty of 6% per month, up to 30%. A return filed more than 6 months late voids the extension entirely and incurs a 30% late-filing penalty on the balance due.
Washington’s Capital Gains Return
Washington has no tax on wages, but it levies a 7% excise tax on long-term capital gains above an annual threshold, reported on a return of its own. For 2025, the 7% rate applied to gains above $278,000 and up to $1 million, and gains beyond $1 million were taxed at 9.9%.
A Washington filer has to hold a federal filing extension and also submit a state extension request through the Department of Revenue’s online portal, normally by April 15. After IRS relief for Washington taxpayers affected by storms and flooding that began in December 2025, the state shifted the capital gains excise tax return and payment due date for the 2025 tax year to May 1, 2026, for that filing year only. The extended filing date is October 15, 2026, and the payment deadline stayed at May 1. Returns have to be filed electronically, with a copy of the federal return attached.
Disaster Postponements
After the January 2025 California wildfires, the IRS postponed 2024 filing and payment deadlines for Los Angeles County to October 15, 2025, and California’s Franchise Tax Board matched that date for state returns and payments. The state relief covered deadlines falling between January 7 and October 15, 2025, including the quarterly estimated payments due in that window. The Franchise Tax Board limited its relief to taxpayers whose home or principal place of business was in Los Angeles County, while the IRS also let people outside the county qualify if the records they needed were in the fire area.
A federal postponement of this kind differs from an extension because it covers payment as well as filing, and each state makes its own call on following it, disaster by disaster. Californians who used the relief wrote the name of the disaster at the top of the state return so the Franchise Tax Board would apply the later date.
States Without a Wage Tax
9 states have no broad individual income tax. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming have no state tax on wages or investment income, and Washington taxes only the capital gains described above. New Hampshire joined the list for 2025, after its interest and dividends tax was repealed effective January 1, 2025. The repeal was originally scheduled for 2026 and was moved up during the 2023 legislative session.
New Hampshire returns for 2024 and earlier remain subject to audit and collection, and returns and payments for those years are still due. For 2025, no return is required and the state issued no forms.
Midyear Moves Between States
A household that moved across a state line during 2026 will face 2 sets of these rules on a single April calendar, possibly an automatic extension in the old state and a 90% payment test in the new one. Each state taxes its own share of the year, so each threshold applies to a different slice of income, figured from records that may not be final until March. For that household, which state’s test fails sooner, and can a single estimated payment in April be divided to satisfy both thresholds?
