President Donald Trump has ordered the federal government to close Wednesday, December 5, 2018, in a National Day of Mourning for former President George H.W. Bush, who died last Friday at the age of 94. With many federal offices and banks closing, taxpayers weren’t sure whether they would be excused for not complying with date-specific deadlines. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has put some taxpayers’ minds at ease by allowing a one-day extension.
Here’s the confusion. In observance of the National Day of Mourning, the Postal Service announced that it would suspend regular mail delivery and retail service on Wednesday, December 5, 2018, and close all post office locations. Additionally, some federal employees will be excused from work and all federal offices, including Social Security offices, will be closed. Some banks will also be closed (Federal Reserve Bank payment systems will remain in operation).
What that means is that taxpayers who might be working on deadlines – from liens and levies to deposits – will be unable to do business as usual. They can’t postmark returns or appeals on time, and may not be able to make bank deposits or other time-sensitive payments. Failure to meet deadlines can have consequences for taxpayers, including penalties.
Under §7503 of the Tax Code:
When the last day prescribed under authority of the internal revenue laws for performing any act falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the performance of such act shall be considered timely if it is performed on the next succeeding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday.
The National Day of Mourning is the result of an Executive Order signed by the President on December 1, 2018. Only Congress has the constitutional authority to create federal holidays, which raises the question: Are taxpayers entitled to an extra day? The IRS opted to make that answer an easy one by issuing a statement granting taxpayers an extra day – until Thursday, December 6, 2018 – to file any return or pay any tax originally due on Wednesday, December 5.
The one-day extension applies to any return required to be filed with the IRS on Wednesday, December 5, 2018. It also applies to any required federal tax payment such as federal income, payroll or excise tax deposits, originally due on that day, including those required to be made through the Treasury Department’s Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).
The agency said that it was granting the extra time “as a mark of respect for George Herbert Walker Bush, the forty-first President of the United States.”
The state funeral for the late President will be held at the National Cathedral, on Wednesday, beginning at 11 a.m. EST.
