Today TaxMama® wants to talk to you about all the noise about filing deadline extensions and other insanity in the air.

 



 

Dear Family,

First of all, I do hope all of you are well, and have enough toilet paper.

On the other hand, I haven’t been able to find bread or water in my supermarkets. Perhaps we will just have to get bread from a real bakery and see if we can survive drinking tap water. Heavens!

But that’s not why I am writing to you today.

As ever, SLOW DOWN. Don’t rely on everything you see or hear in the news. As of yet, we do NOT have an IRS filing due date on July 15th . It’s still April 15th.

Although the actual Secretary of the Treasury made that announcement, he was completely vague about the which payments are extended until July 15th (balance due for 2019? Estimated tax payments for 2020? Payroll tax deposits?  Or…?) He did NOT say that the filing deadline was extended.

We are waiting for the Commissioner of the IRS to make a specific announcement about what is and is not extended – and until when.

However, just a side note. In cases where the President has declared an disaster area, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act in December 2019 did actually establish an automatic 60 day extension on all filing deadlines and payments. So, since he declared a national emergency, it might be possible to rely on that, if all else fails, that should take up to at least June 15th.

In the meantime, I know many people cannot get to your tax professionals, or to places where you can copy or scan your information.

So, for now, just put your personal tax returns on extension – use Form 4868. You can do it online or on paper.

If you can afford to pay on time, do so. Don’t rely on any extensions. https://www.irs.gov/payments  . If you cannot, fine, then wait until the July 15th deadline and if you get penalty letters – just respond that the Secretary of the Treasury gave you more time. (Note: There is no announcement on the Treasury website about this. hmmm)

And remember, you can find answers to all kinds of questions about taxes and business issues, and Enrolled Agent tax education, free. Where? Where else? At www.TaxMama.com.

 

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