On Tuesday, March 17, the US Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, announced that US taxpayers would get a 90-day reprieve in settling their tax bill for 2019, making any tax payments owed not due until July 15. During this same briefing, the Secretary of the Treasury reiterated that the filing deadline would remain at April 15.
This individual exemption applies to taxpayers who owe $1 million or less in taxes. At this time, it appears that US taxpayers are still required to meet the April 15 deadline either by filing the return or the traditional six-month extension (using form 4868). This will likely create some confusion as many taxpayers may not realize that the deadline itself remains. At the time of publication, neither the IRS nor the Treasury Department have made official reports as to the full operation of the plan.
By comparison, the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) announced an extension of their filing deadline to June 1, with a payment deferral until after August 31. You can read more about this here: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/03/canadas-covid-19-economic-response-plan-support-for-canadians-and-businesses.html#Flexibility_for_Tax-filers
While the US tax payment postponement until July 15 will provide a welcome economic reprieve for some taxpayers, it does little to relieve pressure on the accounting industry who are already working their “busy season” under COVID-19 mandated work from home conditions. Thankfully, GTN’s longstanding commitment to flexible work arrangements has allowed our teams to transition quickly to a virtual environment.
We will provide further updates on this fluid situation as they arise.