Ken Santema IRS

IRS extended more deadlines, including 2nd estimated payment

Me trying to keep up with IRS notices.

Earlier this week, I posted a blog about the IRS extending the April 15 deadline to July 15. One downside to the original extension is that other filing deadlines over the next couple of months were not impacted. Well, now the IRS has announced that most deadlines falling between April 15 and July 14 are now extended to July 15. This post will focus on a few areas impacted by this announcement. 

What types of returns are impacted

Here is part of what the IRS says in its notice:

Individuals, trusts, estates, corporations and other non-corporate tax filers qualify for the extra time. This means that anyone, including Americans who live and work abroad, can now wait until July 15 to file their 2019 federal income tax return and pay any tax due.

IRS News Release IR-2020-66

It appears to apply to any type of tax entity that has a filing and payment deadline between April 1 and July 14. The notice also specifies that this announcement covers Americans working abroad. If you wonder about a specific form, I would suggest looking in IRS Notice 2020-23.

Estimated Tax Payments also extended

Earlier this week, I noted the IRS extended the 1st estimated tax payment from April 15 to July 15. The 2nd estimated tax payment, which is due June 15, was not extended. Now, this new IRS notice also extends the 2nd estimated tax payment to July 15. That means both the 1st and 2nd estimated tax payments for 2020 are now due on July 15. Here is an updated table of the estimated tax payment due dates for 2020:

PaymentDue Date
1July 15
2July 15
3September 15
4January 15
TY2020 Individual Estimated Tax Schedule

2016 refunds extended

Income tax returns with a refund have three years after the original filing date to be filed. If a return with a refund is filed more than three years after a filing date, the IRS will not issue that refund. As part of the further extensions, the IRS has extended the unclaimed 2016 refund deadline from April 15 to July 15. That is excellent news for the many Americans who still have not filed their 2016 return.

Stay tuned for more updates

Updates are constantly coming from the IRS. I will continue to post updates as time permits. In particular I am waiting of the IRS to clarify exempt organizations. While exempt organizations had their business return Form 990-T extended, there is no mention of the information return 990. That deadline may still be May 15. Plus I will be doing a post about making payments to IRA’s and HSAs/MSAs. Stay tuned!

Ken Santema IRS

2020 tax day moved from April 15 to July 15

Update 4/10/20. The IRS has extended more deadlines as of 4/9/20.  See my new post for updated information.

Tax season has been extended!

Recently, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the IRS announced the 2020 tax day had been changed from April 15 to July 15. This motivation behind this move was to help taxpayers avoid penalties and interest if the current social distancing and quarantine policies are preventing the timely filing of tax returns. In this post, I will highlight a few key details of this tax deadline change.

What kind of tax returns have a different tax deadline?

Individual tax returns that are usually due on April 15 have their deadline extended to July 15. There are other types of tax returns typically due on April 15 have also been extended to July 15. The IRS FAQ about this extension lists the types of entities and forms that have been extended. Generally, all individual, trust, estate, corporation, and unincorporated business entity that normally have a filing deadline of April 15 are extended to July 15. If you have a question about whether the extension applies to your business, either refer to the IRS guidance or contact us. 

Partnerships and S-Corp are NOT extended.

Partnerships and S-Corps had a due day of March 15 and should have already been filed earlier this year. The extension of the April 15 deadline does not impact the filing deadline of Partnership (Form 1065) or S-Corp (Form 1120S) returns.

The extension to July 15 is automatic.

Many people have been asking if they need to file for an extension to take advantage of the new July 15 deadline. No. The IRS moved the tax deadline, so IRS extension forms for individual returns (4868) or business returns (7004) does not need to be filed.

Filing an extension past July 15.

Some individuals or businesses may be unable to meet the July 15 filing deadline. In those cases, Form 4686 (individuals) or Form 7004 (businesses) can be utilized to file an extension. This extension will only extend the filing deadline to October 15, which is the standard extension deadline. July 15 is the deadline to submit an extension.

It should also be noted that, as always, an extension to file is NOT an extension to pay. If you owe taxes, you will pay penalties and interest for tax payments made beyond July 15. Only the penalty for filing late is removed by filing an extension to October 15. And then if the return isn’t submitted by October 15, a penalty for filing late will also be added by the IRS. It is best to make an estimated payment of what you think will be owed when extending past July 15. Doing so will reduce or eliminate possible payment penalties when you do eventually file your taxes.

More information in future posts.

This post discussed some of the basic details of the IRS moving tax day to July 15. In future posts, other topics surrounding the new deadline will be highlighted. These topics include HSAs/MSAs, IRA contributions, and estimated tax payments. If there are any other questions you have about the deadline extensions, contact us, and we will assist you if possible and may do a blog post focused on that topic.