After resisting professional and congressional pressure to delay the Federal tax filing due date, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig relented last week and announced that individual returns and 2020 tax payments are now due May 17, 2021. While not as much additional time was granted as last year, the delay does provide some relief from this compressed filing season.
A few thoughts on this updated due date:
Taxpayers Don’t Need to Do or File Anything
The delay is automatic. Nothing needs to be done. No forms need to be filed. No payment needs to be made by April 15 (caveat below).
States
Most states have complied with the May 17 due date. I believe all of the states that we file client returns have already moved to the May 17 due date. In fact, Maryland was the first to act by pushing the date back even further: to July 15.
Estimated Taxes
Because nothing is ever easy with the IRS, this delay DOES NOT apply to first quarter 2021 estimated taxes. Those are still due on April 15, 2021. Why they couldn’t be pushed back 30-ish days as well is beyond me but they were not.
Working with Us
We continue to work like normal with perhaps not as many late, late nights. We will still be preparing returns over the next few weeks but we are a bit slower on turnaround than “normal” years. Also, given all of the uncertainty this tax season, we ask that all material arrive in our office by April 23, 2021 to guarantee completion by the May 15 due date. Again there is no extension issue on April 15. This deadline is automatic and no action by you or by us to utilize the May 17 due date.
If you have any questions about this or how the delayed deadline impacts you, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.