“We can be fined tens of thousands of dollars if we miss one of the filing deadlines.”
You're an accountant. You're talking to a cousin that you don't see very often about your job. You're explaining why your job is stressful sometimes. This is one reason.
We can be fined tens of thousands of dollars if we miss one of the filing deadlines.
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tens of (thousands/millions/billions) of (something)
Use this phrase to talk about a large number of something.
"Tens of thousands" could mean anything from 20,000 to 100,000, but it seems like it's on the higher end of that range.
You can also say "tens of millions" like this:
We've managed to cut tens of millions of dollars in costs from this year's budget.
By the way, if you want to talk about a general number that's between 20 and 100, you don't say "tens". Instead, you say "dozens". A "dozen" means 12:
She tried on dozens of different outfits.
a filing deadline
The day that you have to finish something by is a "deadline".
A "filing deadline" is the last day to file, or submit, a set of paperwork.
We usually use the phrase "filing deadline" to talk about doing one's taxes:
I always put off doing my taxes until right before the filing deadline.