The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have announced that the 2019 tax filing deadline remains July 15, 2020.
Due to COVID-19, the original filing deadline and tax payment due date for 2019 was postponed from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020. With many states still under travel and work restrictions due to the pandemic, some taxpayers and tax professionals alike were hoping that the date might be extended.
Last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had not ruled out the possibility of pushing out the deadline, saying, “It’s something I’m thinking about.” He had indicated that he would continue to consider the idea as the date approaches.
But today’s announcement appears to rule out any additional changes.
Individual taxpayers who cannot meet the July 15 due date can request an automatic extension of time to file. Keep in mind that the extension is a six-month extension from the original filing date of April 15, meaning that an extension will extend the time to file to October 15, 2020. It is not an extension from the extended due date.
Additionally, the automatic extension of time to file extends the time to file, not the time to pay. The IRS encourages those who owe taxes to pay what they can by July 15, 2020, to avoid penalties and interest.
If you can’t pay, help is available.
“The IRS understands that those affected by the coronavirus may not be able to pay their balances in full by July 15, but we have many payment options to help taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “These easy-to-use payment options are available on IRS.gov, and most can be done automatically without reaching out to an IRS representative.”
Payment options are available on IRS.gov/payments to help taxpayers who can’t pay in full and some can offer taxpayers smaller penalties. That’s important since interest and late-payment penalties will continue to accrue on any unpaid taxes.
