The Internal Revenue Services offices in Washington, D.C.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
The IRS is giving taxpayers extra relief on upcoming deadlines, pushing the due date for more returns and payments to July 15.
Taxpayers have three more months to submit their 2019 income tax returns and payments, and now the IRS is granting additional time for other documents and payments, the agency said on Thursday night.
Among the items that are pushed back to July 15:
*Second quarter estimated tax payments, which would have otherwise been due on June 15.
*Partnership return filings, as well as corporate return filings and payments.
Taxpayers have until July 15 to submit both first and second quarter estimated taxes, as well as income tax payments and returns for estates and trusts, the IRS said.
“The quarterly estimates are the biggest thing,” said Glen Birnbaum, CPA at Heinold Banwart in East Peoria, Illinois. Initially, the IRS pushed first quarter estimated taxes to July 15, but left the deadline for second quarter payments on June 15.
“That’s going to be fixed now,” he said.
Taxpayers should still check in with their states, as their deadlines may differ. The American Institute of CPAs maintains a list of changing state deadlines here.
Click here for a comprehensive list of the documents and payments subject to the new deadline.
The agency’s announcement is welcome relief for tax professionals who have been grappling with business disruption due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as uncertainty over when filings needed to be submitted.
“Over the last several weeks, we repeated our request to Treasury and the IRS for extensive tax filing and payment relief,” said Barry Melancon, CPA and president of the American Institute of CPAs, in a statement.
“We commend Treasury and the IRS for recognizing the added stress these deadlines cause and taking action to ensure taxpayers and their advisors can take care of their families and their employees appropriately,” Melancon said.
The IRS rolled out its initial deadline relief – a delay of 2019 income tax returns and payments – in March. Tax return data seems to suggest that people are taking more time to submit filings.
As of April 3, the taxman received 97.3 million individual income tax returns, which is down by nearly 6% year over year. The number of refunds issued is also down: 74 million refunds have been delivered, down by 5% from the year-ago period.
For taxpayers who need cash in their pocket, submitting a return as early as possible makes sense. The average refund is $3,030, as of April 3.
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