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States Urged to Delay Tax Deadlines Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on Mar. 23, 2020

While a handful of states have delayed filing deadlines, taxpayer groups and advocates are urging that all states follow the IRS in delaying tax return filing and payment deadlines to provide relief amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a March 20 tweet, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that the Trump administration will be moving tax day from April 15 to July 15. “All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties,” he said.

The IRS had previously extended the payment deadline but left the filing deadline in place.

Jared Walczak of the Tax Foundation said in a March 20 blog post that it’s important for states to follow the IRS’s lead, explaining that states that don’t also extend their filing deadlines to July 15 will “negate much of the benefit of the federal extension, because taxpayers would still have to prepare much of the relevant tax information — a great deal of it drawn from their federal [Forms] 1040 — by the earlier date.”

The National Taxpayers Union Foundation has also called on states to delay filing and payment deadlines. In a March 20 release, Nicole Kaeding of the foundation applauded Mnuchin's announcement, saying "providing state-level relief is essential."

Kaeding told Tax Notes March 20 that delaying tax filings and payments is an easy way for states to help provide economic assistance to individuals and businesses.

"By allowing individuals and businesses affected by the virus to hold on to cash, their budgets and their businesses can stay afloat in the short term," Kaeding said.

Oklahoma has extended payment deadlines but not the filing deadline.

The Oklahoma Tax Commission voted March 19 to extend payment deadlines for Oklahoma income taxes that are due April 15 to July 15 following IRS guidelines, but kept the April 15 filing deadline.

Commission spokeswoman Paula Ross told Tax Notes that the commission is reviewing the latest IRS determination. 

States that have pushed back both filing and payment deadlines include Alabama, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, South Carolina, Oregon, and Utah. 

North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R) in a March 20 release urged the Department of Revenue and legislative working groups to delay filing deadlines for sales, payroll, unemployment insurance, and income tax return filings. The DOR announced March 19 that it will extend payment deadlines but not filing deadlines.

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