Tax Alert: IRS Postpones More Filing and
Payment Deadlines
April 10, 2020 - On April 9, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-23 that extends the deadline for additional tax filings and payments. The IRS previously issued Notices 2020-18 and 2020-20 that postponed the due date for various tax returns and payments to July 15, 2020. However, several other filings and payments were not eligible for postponement under that previous guidance. (See Whitley Penn’s COVID-19 website page at https://www.whitleypenn.com/covid-19-update/ for details regarding prior notices). 

The new IRS guidance expands the relief provided in the original notices to include several additional filing and payment deadlines. The guidance postpones the due date to July 15, 2020 for specified tax filings and payments that are originally due between April 1, 2020 and July 15, 2020.  The specified returns and payments eligible for the deferral under Notice 2020-23 include:

  • Income tax returns and related payments filed by certain individuals, nonresident alien individuals, calendar and fiscal year corporations, calendar and fiscal year partnerships, and estates and trusts.  
  • Estate and generation-skipping tax returns and related transfer tax payments.
  • Gift and generation-skipping tax returns and related transfer tax payments.
  • Exempt organization tax returns and related business income tax, investment income tax, and excise tax payments.
  • Quarterly estimated income tax payments for individuals, corporations, estates and trusts, and exempt organizations.

In addition, the date to perform certain time-sensitive acts and make certain elections due between April 1, 2020 and July 15, 2020 is extended to July 15, 2020.

The postponement is automatic and no request for an extension of time to file is required. Eligible filings and payments made on or before July 15, 2020 will not be subject to penalty and interest. Penalty and interest will begin to accrue on July 16, 2020 for any filings and payments not made by July 15, 2020. Taxpayers that require additional time to file their returns after July 15 may submit an extension request on or before July 15, 2020. The extension applies only to the filing of returns and not to the payment of tax. 

The specified forms and payments are listed on Pages 3 through 6 of Notice 2020-23 and can be accessed at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-20-23.pdf.
Whitley Penn is continually monitoring the tax and economic developments related to the Coronavirus pandemic and will send out additional alerts in the future.  In the interim, please contact your Whitley Penn Tax Advisor if you have any questions or require any additional information.