Is there a penalty for a tax return filed late that shows a refund?

Fortunately, the answer is “No.”  If you are due a refund on your taxes and file the return after the filing deadline (July 15 this year), the IRS will not charge you a late filing penalty.  This is because you are only hurting yourself by the late filing, you are not withholding money from the IRS.  But you can’t wait too long to file your return. There is a deadline by which you must file your return in order to get your refund.  If you do not file the return within three years of its due date (2019’s deadline will be July 15, 2023 since the return was due on July 15, 2020) your refund will be lost.  That money will be delegated to the general U. S. Treasury fund.