Form 8809 Information Returns Extension Guide

An extension to file is not an extension to pay tax.

Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns, requests additional time to file information returns with the IRS. Filed electronically through the FIRE system by the return's original due date, it grants an automatic 30-day extension for most covered return types.

Get the form: Download Form 8809 (PDF, irs.gov) • About Form 8809 (irs.gov)

Returns covered

Form 8809 covers Forms W-2, W-2G, 1042-S, 1094-C, 1095 series, 1097, 1098 series, 1099 series, 3921, 3922, 5498 series, and 8027.

Not automatic for Form W-2. An extension request to file Form W-2 is not automatic and must meet specific criteria described in the Form 8809 instructions; it is granted only in limited circumstances, not on request alone.

What it does not do

Form 8809 extends the time to file the information return with the IRS. It does not extend the deadline to furnish the statement to the payee/recipient, which generally follows a separate, earlier deadline set by the specific form's instructions and is extended, if at all, through a different, more limited procedure.

Source: irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8809, Form 8809 instructions (FIRE system, automatic 30-day extension, W-2 exclusion).

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Form 8809 - Information Returns Extension

Returns covered

What it does not do