Topline
The Internal Revenue Service will extend this year’s April 15 tax filing deadline by about a month, the agency announced Wednesday, after scores of lawmakers urged the IRS to give Americans more time to deal with a raft of delays and tax code changes.
Key Facts
The new deadline for 2020 tax filings and payments is May 17, the IRS said in a statement to Forbes.
The agency said the extension is due to challenges imposed by the coronavirus: “This continues to be a tough time for many people, and the IRS wants to continue to do everything possible to help taxpayers navigate the unusual circumstances related to the pandemic,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said.
People who make estimated tax payments every quarter will still need to pay on April 15.
Key Background
This tax season has been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The IRS had received fewer tax returns than usual as of last month, the agency is reportedly overwhelmed with a backlog of old returns, and the recently passed economic recovery legislation changed how unemployment benefits are taxed. As a result, some lawmakers — including House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Oversight Subcommittee Chair Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) — have called on the IRS to extend its April 15 deadline.
Crucial Quote
“This extension is absolutely necessary to give Americans some needed flexibility in a time of unprecedented crisis,” Pascrell and Neal wrote in a statement Wednesday.
Tangent
Last year amid the start of the pandemic, the IRS delayed its deadline for filings and payments to July 15.
Further Reading
IRS Plans to Delay Tax Deadline to Mid-May After Chaotic Year (Bloomberg)
New Tax Day Deadline: Monday, May 17, 2021 But 2021 Estimated Payments Still Due April 15 (Forbes)