U.S. Treasury Secretary Announces Tax Filing Deadline Moved to July 15th

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that the 2019 income tax filing deadline will be moved from April 15^th to July 15^th, because of the stress the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has put on the system.

At President Trump’s direction, Mnuchin announced on Twitter, “we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties.” Beginning July 16, 2020 taxpayers will receive penalties and start to accrue interest on unpaid balances on their taxes. Neither the IRS nor the Department of Treasury have updated their websites with this latest announcement (as of Friday, March 20^th at 3pm).

Previously, the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS had announced that taxpayers could defer making income tax payments for 2019 and estimated income tax payments for 2020 due April 15 (up to certain amounts) until July 15, 2020. (A copy of the notice can be accessed here.) Now, the federal government is stating that you don’t have to file a return by April 15^th. Secretary Mnuchin is encouraging taxpayers due a refund to file their tax returns as soon as possible. 

However, the state of Kentucky has not followed suit in adjusting the tax filing deadline for state income taxes. The filing deadline is remains April 15^th as of Friday, March 20^th.

The impact of COVID-19 has created a fluid situation. As your trusted advisors, we at Baldwin CPAs will continue to monitor the situation and bring you the latest updates. As always, please email us if you have any questions.