Tax Filing 2020: Deadline Extended to July 15, 2020

The deadline for filing tax returns in the US will be postponed by three months, from April 15 to July 15, 2020, because of the novel coronavirus outbreak. 

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tweeted, We are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties. The announcement by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was formalized by the IRS through a Notice on the 20 March 2020.

Lawmakers, accountants, and other tax professionals had urged the administration to make an exception citing the coronavirus outbreak. Since the social distancing guidelines would make it hard for many to make tax preparations and tax payments to meet the previous deadline.

This announcement was welcomed after the administration received several complaints after the earlier plan seemed confusing. The earlier plan gave people who owed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) an additional 90 days to pay. Although, without penalties or interest, it still required them to file returns by April 15. The announcement also clarified the following:

An automatic extension: The due date for filing federal income tax returns and making payments for federal income tax is automatically postponed to July 15. Taxpayers need not apply for an extension.

No ceiling on the postponed payment amount: The earlier notice set a cap of $10 Million and $1 Million for corporations and for others respectively. This Notice clarifies that there is no ceiling limit on the amount of the payment that may be postponed.

What about other taxes? 

State Tax

Several states including Arizona, California, Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania have also postponed their filing deadlines for state taxes.

State of Washington, home to Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft, and Remitly, the Revenue department will work with businesses that cannot file or pay their taxes on time due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

Other Federal Taxes

No extension is provided for the payment or deposit of any other type of federal tax. Other federal taxes like Gift Tax are still likely due on April 15, unless an extension of time to file is filed with the IRS on or before that date. Read more on Tax implication while sending money from the US.