Question of the Week

Do I have a tax deadline next week? 

Happy Five-Minute Friday! I hope you all had a good week. In previous years, you might have been stressed out because April 15th is right around the corner. This year, however, is very different.

Last month, the IRS extended the income tax filing deadline from April 15th to July 15th. In moving that deadline, the IRS also pushed the back the deadline for contributions to your IRA and HSA, as well as your estimated tax payments for the first quarter (all of which are normally due on April 15th).

Yesterday, the IRS issued additional guidance that also pushed the 2nd quarter deadline, normally due on June 15th to July 15th as well. That means that both the first and second quarter estimated payments are now due on July 15th.

Before you breathe too deep of a sigh of relief, keep in mind you still have to pay estimated tax. You just don’t have to pay it right now.

Here are a couple of other caveats to keep in mind:

• Just because you have an extension doesn’t mean you have to take it. If you think you may be due a refund, you should still file your return in order to get your money as soon as possible.
• The extension of the federal deadline doesn’t automatically extend your state filing deadline. You can find your state specific deadlines here. That applies to estimated payments as well.
• The IRS three-year statute of limitations on refunds has also been extended under the most recent guidance. That means, if you’re due a refund on your 2016 return and haven’t filed for it yet (for instance, by amending your tax status to married filing jointly), you now have until July 15th to do that too,.
• If you don’t have all your information by July 15th, you can still file an extension until October 15, 2020. Just remember the extension is an extension to file, not to pay. So, if you will owe money on the return, try to pay something by then.

 

Quote of the Week 

“Death, taxes, and childbirth! There’s never any convenient time for any of them.”  – Margaret Mitchell

 

Task of the Week 

Now that you have a bit of stress relief, do something fun for yourself with the time you would have spent putting together documents or stressing about reviewing your returns. Nothing says gratitude like spending time wisely.