There’s an important IRS deadline Wednesday

There’s an important date this week for taxpayers who owe unpaid taxes and missed the April 18 filing deadline.

According to the IRS, taxpayers have until Wednesday, June 14 to pay any taxes owed in order to avoid a larger late-filing penalty.

And those penalties and interest can grow quickly.

Typically, the late-filing penalty for each month – or part of a month that a return is late – is 5% of unpaid taxes, up to a minimum of 25%. The late filing penalty only stops when the taxpayer files. But, by law, if a return is more than 60 days late, the minimum late-filing penalty, as known as a Failure to File penalty, is either $435 or 100% of the unpaid tax, whichever is less.

The IRS deadline for receiving the returns to avoid the higher penalty is June 14. The fasted and easiest way to do this is to use IRS Direct Pay.

READ MORE: Alabama’s $150 tax rebate: When will you get your money? Who qualifies?

Some people can avoid a penalty

The IRS has some programs designed to help people avoid paying penalties.

Taxpayers who have filed and paid on time and have not been assessed any penalties for the past three years often qualify to have the extra fees abated, according to the IRS. Even if the taxpayer doesn’t qualify for relief, there are some options if the IRS determines the failure to pay was due to a reasonable cause and not willful neglect.

The IRS also offers short-term payment plans for those with a total balance of less than $100,000 and a long-term payment plant for those who have a balance of less than $50,000.