The IRS doesn’t currently have plans to further delay the July 15 filing deadline, but as the date draws nearer, the possibility isn’t completely out of the question, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
“It’s something I’m thinking about,” Mnuchin said during a June 23 webinar hosted by Bloomberg, adding that “we’ll look carefully as we approach the July date.”
The usual April 15 deadline for filing tax returns and paying federal income taxes was pushed back three months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Mnuchin affirmed that “it was absolutely the right thing to do,” given concerns that some taxpayers wouldn’t have access to their accountants or financial information.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Mnuchin said most Americans have filed their returns, nearly a month ahead of the deadline.
“I’m pleased to report that returns filed are only down 10 percent year-over-year, and refunds are down only 10 percent,” Mnuchin said. “The majority of those people that needed to get refunds got them.”
However, the IRS only recently began processing paper tax returns and is now dealing with a backlog of 11 million pieces of unopened mail, meaning many taxpayers can expect delays in their returns.
IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig will discuss the filing season and the IRS’s plans for recovering from the pandemic with the Senate Finance Committee on June 30, according to an announcement from Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.