A number of tax deadlines are being extended for individuals, estates, business corporations and other bodies by the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasuring Department due to the on-going corona virus pandemic. Tax payments were originally due on April 15th, 2020 but as a result of the on-going crisis, the IRS has extended/postponed the tax deadline for IRS tax returns to July 15th, 2020. The tax returns include that of 2019 and previous taxes owed by individuals. The federal income tax deadline has also been extended to July 15th, 2020. For those who owe federal taxes as a result of 2019 tax returns, July 15th is the deadline to pay taxes without having to face the penalty. This means that there will be no late-filing penalty, late-payment penalty or interest.

The extension of the payment applies to all taxpayers that have a filing or payment deadline falling on or after April 1st and before July 15th, 2020.

It was also made known by the IRS that individual taxpayers who need extra time to file beyond the July 15 deadline can request for an extension until October 15th, 2020 by filing Form 4868. Businesses, partnership limited liability companies and business corporations requesting more time must file Form 7004. It should also be noted that an extension to file is not an extension to pay any taxes owed. Taxes owed by taxpayers requesting more time to file should be paid by the July 15th 2020 deadline so as to avoid additional interests and penalties.

Filing can be done using the tax professional, tax software or using the free file link on IRS.gov. A more efficient way to file will be filing electronically. In previous years, people used the mailing paper tax forms to file and it took a long time. Let us take a look at some of the benefits of filing electronically

Filing can be done online and at your very own convenience – It relieves a lot of stress as you don’t need to bother about mailing paper tax forms. Taxpayers can make use of their tax software from their home computer any time they like. They can also use the help of tax professionals.

It is very secure – It is concerned with the use of modern technology with solid encryption which protects tax returns. The IRS has worked with leaders of the tax industries to protect tax returns from tax related identity theft.

Individuals get their refunds faster when they file online – When taxpayers choose direct deposit for their refund, they can get their money in less than 3 weeks whereas if a mailing paper tax form were used, it could take up to 2 months to get a refund.

Filing electronically is free – All taxpayers can make use of the free file program regardless of income and it is only available on IRS official website which is IRS.gov.

Taxpayers who owe taxes are to file by due date and pay as at when due also. Payments can be done online. Taxpayers can schedule their payments electronically by using a mobile device and the IRS2 Go app. Other methods which can be used to make payments include:

·  Check or money order

·  Cash

·  Same day wire

As earlier stated, those filing for tax returns for previous years can also file for refunds as the deadline is July 15 as well. One of the IRS laws provides a 3-year window chance to claim a refund. After three years, taxpayers can no longer get a refund as the money then becomes the property of the United States Treasury. So in essence, it is expected that taxpayers should properly address, mail and ensure that their tax returns are postmarked by the due date (July 15, 2020).

The extensions for tax filing and payment relief have been highly praised by several individuals as their many requests to the treasury and the IRS were heard and attended to. The extension of the deadline was wonderful news to thousands of taxpayers and tax professionals facing upcoming deadlines as the seriousness of the ongoing global pandemic cannot be over emphasized. The IRS and United States Treasury are still being urged to work on a contingency plan if anything were to go sideways because we shouldn’t risk the life of anyone just to meet up with tax filing and payment obligations.

The solution provided by the IRS immediately found an opposition from the American Accountants Associations (AICPA) which stated that the shift of the payment term was beneficial for the economy but it would have meant inconvenience for taxpayers and consultants as the limitations faced by the corona virus would have made it difficult to complete and send the tax return.

The deadline for American citizens residing abroad was initially scheduled for June 15, 2020 but the deadline has also been merged into the new deadline (July 15, 2020).

Now, some questions must have been asked concerning the filing of tax returns. We saw earlier that individuals filing should make use of Form 4868 while businesses should make use of Form 7004. So we ask ourselves two important questions;

What is the tax filing deadline for submitting Form 4868 for the extension of the tax filing deadline to 15th October, 2020? It has also been moved to July 15th, 2020. The tax filing deadline should have been extended by 3 months too, but as a precaution, we advised customers to send the Form 4868 by April 15th which most people adhered to so as to avoid any problems whatsoever.

Has the tax filing deadline expiration date of the extension to 15 October 2020 remained the same or is it also postponed for 3 months? The tax filing deadline of 15th October, 2020 has remained fixed and is not currently postponed.

Note that if the tax filing deadline falls on a weekend or on a holiday, Payments must be issued on the next business day. Also, taxpayers should not confuse the payment of the first installment of estimated taxes for 2020 with the filing of their 2019 tax return as they are two different actions.