Oh, oh! April 15th is right around the corner and you've got a problem. You owe taxes to the IRS, but you don't have the funds to pay them. What do you do? Well, what you don't want to do is to bury your head in the sand and forget about it. That'll cost you a bundle in late charges and penalties. At the very least, you'll want to file for an extension. Doing so via IRS form 4868 will give you an automatic 6 month extension.

It's important to know that filing an extension does not mean that you are granted an extension to pay your taxes. The extension relates only to the actual tax return filing date. Taxes are due and payable on April 15. Penalties and interest start on April 16, come hell or high water. It's for this reason that paying at least some of your taxes on April 15th is better than not paying nay taxes.

If you don't have the funds on hand to pay your taxes in full, you may want to consider using one of the following options to get them paid in full. Of course, these options are all expensive, so try to avoid them unless all the other options you have are worse.

1. Pay by credit card

You'll have to pay a 2.5% fee on the amount you charge to the IRS. The nice thing here is that you won't have to pay the full amount of your tax debt when your bill comes in. But remember, you WILL be paying interest on the outstanding amount. If you are in financial trouble, you may have the idea you can pay your taxes via credit card then file bankruptcy and be off the hook with the IRS. Not so. The bankruptcy laws treat the debt the same way it would if you hadn't paid them and still owed them. Taxes are generally not dischargeable.

2. Use a credit card convenience check

This option is expensive because you will likely have to pay a fee when you use a check. If you can't pay off the amount of the check right away, the interest meter will start running based on the date the check was cashed.

3. Borrow against your home equity

The good news here is that the interest you pay on the borrowed money will likely be tax deductible. The problem here is that it's very dangerous to start pulling home equity loans for things other than reasons that increase the value of your home.

A professional tax advisor may suggest that you are better off paying what you ow in installments to the IRS than using your credit card. He or she may also suggest that you try to settle your debt with the IRS for less than the full amount via an Offer in Compromise.