Administration Announces Unprecedented Tax-Payment Deadline Delay for Majority of Americans
On March 17, 2020, as part of a relief effort in response to the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the government’s unprecedented move to delay the April 15thtax-payment deadline for certain individuals and businesses-penalty and interest free. Although full details of the maneuver have not been released yet, it is widely expected that individuals who owe no more than $1 million and businesses that owe no more than $10 million will have an extra 90 days to pay their 2019 income tax liabilities.
According to Mnuchin, this action could free up hundreds of billions of dollars in liquidity in the economy-money that would otherwise have gone to paying taxes. The administration is hopeful that this will result in relieving some of the cash-flow problems that businesses will experience as social distancing means a loss in revenue from such things as dining out, transportation and various entertainment outlets.
Significantly, Mnuchin emphasized that so long as the taxes are filed, the penalties and interest will automatically be waived.
So far, the IRS is continuing to process tax refunds and Mnuchin has encouraged taxpayers to file their returns if they can.
Editor’s Note: At this time, no official announcement has been made to extend the deadline for the filing of individual tax returns. We remind our readers that April 15, 2020, remains the deadline to file your returns until further notice.
If you have questions or concerns about how this pandemic affects your taxes, call Frost Law at 202-618-1873.
