On April 9, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2020-23, announcing their extension of many additional key tax deadlines for businesses, individuals, estates, trusts, and not-for-profit organizations. The tax bureau had already extended the April 15 tax filing deadline for federal income taxes to July 15, 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The broad tax filing and payment deadline relief covers all taxpayers that have either a filing or payment deadline that falls between April 1, 2020 and July 15, 2020. The tax relief is automatic—there is no need for taxpayers to file extensions or provide documentation in order to obtain relief. For a full list of the federal tax forms and payments to which the extension applies, check out this article from the Journal of Accountancy.
Here’s a brief look at a few of the items detailed in the IRS notice:
- Individual taxpayers can file Form 4868 to request that the already-extended tax filing deadline be pushed to October 15, 2020 for them. Businesses can do the same, using Form 7004. Please note: an extension of the filing date is not an extension of the payment deadline—payments will still be due on July 15, 2020 for those who request a filing extension.
- Individuals and corporations that make quarterly estimated were also granted additional relief. The April 15 estimated tax payment deadline had already been extended, but the new IRS notice also extends the due date for payments due June 15. These estimated quarterly tax payments are now due on July 15, 2020.
- The U.S. tax code provides a three-year window of opportunity for claiming a refund for previous tax years. The IRS announce that the April 15th deadline for claiming a refund on a 2016 tax return has been extended to July 15, 2020.
For further details, click here to read Notice 2020-23 in full at irs.gov.