No. There is no evidence that filing an extension changes your examination odds, and the mechanics of how the IRS selects returns make it unlikely that it could.
How returns are actually selected
The IRS scores returns with an automated system that compares the numbers on your return to what it expects for returns like yours. High scores get a human look. The inputs are the amounts on the return: income, deductions, credits, ratios between them. Whether the return arrived in April or October is not one of them.
The other big source of examinations is document matching. If a 1099 or W-2 reported to the IRS does not appear on your return, a CP2000 notice follows. That is not an audit, and again, timing has nothing to do with it.
Why extending might lower your risk
A return prepared with all the documents in hand has fewer mismatches than one filed before the last 1099 showed up. Fewer mismatches, fewer notices. If anything, the rushed April return is the riskier one.
What does raise the odds
Large deductions relative to income, cash-heavy businesses, unreported income the IRS already knows about, round numbers everywhere, and claiming a credit you do not qualify for. None of those get better or worse with an extension.
Common mistake
Filing a return you know is wrong in April to "avoid attention," then amending it. Amended returns do get a human look. An accurate return in October does not.
Ready to file it?
You can file a personal extension (Form 4868) or a business extension (Form 7004) online in a few minutes with TaxExtension.com, an IRS-authorized e-file provider operated by our publisher. The extension is automatic; the payment is still due on the original date.
Sources
- IRS, IRS audits
- IRS, Understanding your CP2000 notice