Federal Tax Return Filing and Payment Relief in Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 Resources Tax

The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service have announced (in IRS Notice 2020-18) that the federal income tax filing due date has been automatically extended from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020.  Taxpayers can also defer federal income tax payments normally due on April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020, without any penalties and interest, regardless of the amount owed.  This deferment applies to all taxpayers, including individuals, trusts and estates, corporations and other non-corporate tax filers as well as those who pay self-employment tax.  No special action or filing is required for taxpayers to qualify for this automatic federal tax filing and payment relief.  Individual taxpayers who need additional time to file beyond the extended July 15 deadline, can request a filing extension by filing Form 4868 and businesses who need additional time can file for an extension using Form 7004.

Additional information has been provided by the IRS on this filing and payment deadline guidance on a Q&A page on the IRS website.

The IRS has also set up a special Coronavirus Tax Relief page on IRS.gov to provide updated tax information and address tax issues related to the COVID-19 virus.