On March 17, 2021, the Treasury Department and IRS announced the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will automatically be extended from April 15, 2021 to May 17, 2021. As of today, tax returns for corporations and trusts are due on April 15, 2021.
Individual taxpayers do not need to contact their accountants or CPAs, file any forms, or call the IRS to qualify for this automatic federal tax filing and payment relief.
This extension does not apply to estimated tax payments due on April 15, 2021. Taxes must be paid as taxpayers earn or receive income during the year, either through withholding or estimated tax payments. In general, estimated tax payments are made quarterly to the IRS by people whose income is not subject to income tax withholding, including self-employment income, interest, dividends, alimony, or rental income. Most taxpayers automatically have their taxes withheld from their paychecks and submitted to the IRS by their employer.
The extension allows individual taxpayers to postpone federal income tax payments for the 2020 tax year due on April 15, 2021 to May 17, 2021, without penalties and interest, regardless of the amount owed. This postponement applies to individual taxpayers, including individuals who pay self-employment tax. Penalties, interest, and additions to tax will begin to accrue on any remaining unpaid balances as of May 17, 2021. Individual taxpayers will automatically avoid interest and penalties on the taxes paid by May 17, 2021.
Individual taxpayers who need additional time to file beyond the May 17, 2021 deadline can request a filing extension until October 15, 2021, by filing Form 4868, which gives taxpayers until October 15, 2021 to file their 2020 tax return but does not grant an extension of time to pay taxes due. To avoid interest and penalties, taxpayers should pay their federal income tax due by May 17, 2021.
Arizona and Other State Tax Returns
The federal tax filing deadline postponement to May 17, 2021, only applies to individual federal income returns and tax, including tax on self-employment income, payments otherwise due April 15, 2021. As of today, it does not apply to Arizona, other state tax payments, or deposits or payments of any other type of federal tax. Taxpayers also will need to file income tax returns in 42 states plus the District of Columbia. State filing and payment deadlines vary and are not always the same as the federal filing deadline. Taxpayers can check with their state tax agencies for those details.
Additional procedural guidance is expected from the IRS. Visit our website for further updates.