1040 Individual Income Tax Forms
Photographer: Daniel Acker / Bloomberg
Photographer: Daniel Acker / Bloomberg
The IRS is planning to delay the April 15 tax filing deadline by about one month, giving taxpayers more time to file statements and pay any outstanding fees, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
The IRS is still figuring out what the deadline will be. The agency is considering setting the filing deadline for May 15 or 17, according to two of the people, who were not allowed to speak publicly because the decision has not been finalized. May 15 is a Saturday and the IRS typically delays filing deadlines that fall on a weekend or holiday to the next business day.
The IRS and the Treasury did not respond to requests for comment on the delay.
Extending the process would give taxpayers more breathing space to meet their tax obligations in what is becoming one of the most complicated tax seasons in recent decades. The move would come after calls from accountants and congressional leaders to delay the due date, as new legislation and changes in work related to the pandemic hinder taxpayers’ plans.
Among the changes this fiscal season are last-minute amendments to the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus project signed earlier this month, which gives filers a new tax exemption on until $ 10,200 in unemployment benefits. The individual income tax return, Form 1040, is also the mechanism for people to claim any missed stimulus payments of $ 1,200 or $ 600 from last year.
In addition to the pandemic interruptions, changes in tax legislation will mean that some filers will have to wait for updated forms, resend their statements, and some will need to consult a tax advisor on how to proceed, if they have already filed the case.
Read more: US tax refunds plummet 32% in slow moving IRS filing season
House Speaker Richard Neal, Congressman Bill Pascrell, and Mike Crapo, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, asked IRS commissioner Chuck Rettig to delay the filing deadline, citing the importance of this tax season by cause of all tax changes and aid to coronavirus administered through the tax code.
The IRS, which has administrative authority to delay tax deadlines without Congress, also extended the filing period last year, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the beginning of March, the IRS has been behind last year’s metrics in the number of tax returns filed and processed and the number of refunds issued The filing season, which started on February 12, started about two weeks later than normal and contributed to the decline.
The extension of the tax also comes when the IRS has another big task: to process a third round of direct payments to families, this time for $ 1,400 each. The IRS said it has so far sent over 90 million payments, totaling US $ 242 billion.
(Updates with changes for this archiving season starting in the fifth paragraph.)