file a tax extension
Definition
To submit a formal request, typically using IRS Form 4868 in the United States, to extend the deadline for filing an annual income tax return from the standard April 15 cutoff to October 15.
A bureaucratic maneuver allowing taxpayers extra time to organize finances, often invoked when receipts resemble abstract art and deductions feel like quantum physics.
Examples
I waited until midnight on April 14 to file a tax extension, turning my living room into a paper tornado.
My uncle's idea of financial planning is to file a tax extension every year and pretend the extra months are a vacation.
She filed a tax extension after discovering her cat had shredded half her W-2 forms into confetti.
Procrastination pros know that filing a tax extension buys six months of guilt-free spreadsheet avoidance.