The IRS announced late on Monday that it will not further postpone federal tax filing and payment deadlines beyond July 15 (IR-2020-134). In response to the hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, most tax deadlines between April 1 and July 15 were moved to July 15 in Notice 2020-23.
The IRS reminded taxpayers in its announcement that they can apply for an automatic extension of time to file until Oct. 15 but must pay their taxes due by the July 15 deadline.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the decision not to further postpone the deadlines came after consultation with various stakeholders. Some taxpayers and tax practitioners had requested that the July 15 date be further extended. However, the AICPA has expressed support for maintaining the July 15 date (for an explanation of the AICPA position, see Karl and Hesse, “July 15 Filing Date — Not to Move”).
According to Edward Karl, CPA, CGMA, AICPA vice president–Taxation, “We have spoken with many CPAs and are aware of the challenges; however, the realities of COVID uncertainty, and the lack of state conformity among other issues, drive us to this conclusion.”
According to Treasury, over 130 million taxpayers have filed tax returns so far this season. In FY 2019, the IRS processed more than 253 million individual and business tax returns and forms.
For more on the range of tax filings and payments that have been postponed until July 15, see Keenan, Cooper, and Gordon, “Understanding the Filing Relief for ‘Time-Sensitive Acts’ in Notice 2020-23.”
For more news and reporting on the coronavirus and how CPAs can handle challenges related to the pandemic, visit the JofA’s coronavirus resources page.
For tax-related resources, visit the AICPA’s COVID-19: Tax resources page.
— Alistair M. Nevius, J.D., (Alistair.Nevius@aicpa-cima.com) is The Tax Adviser’s editor in chief.
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