Alerts & Updates

As many of you have heard, the IRS extended the 2020 tax filing deadline to May 17, 2021 (IRS Release:  IR-2021-59).  This change is for the deadline to file your tax return as well as pay any Federal balances due for the 2020 tax year.  No extra forms or filings are required to obtain the extra four weeks to file or pay.

Unfortunately, the IRS did not change the deadline for 1^st quarter 2021 estimated tax payments.  Those payments, if required, must still be postmarked by April 15^th to be considered timely paid.

Separate from the Federal filing due date, many state returns are also due April 15^th.  Some states will automatically move their due date to May 17^th to follow the Federal due date, but many states will need to issue specific guidance or have their legislatures authorize a change in the filing or payment due dates.  At this time, we have not seen any specific guidance from Missouri or Illinois as to how the Federal change will impact the state filings.

For returns that we have already finished where you have not yet paid your balance due, you now have until May 17^th to make your Federal payment.  Vouchers do not need to be re-issued to reflect the new date (just send the payment per the instructions you were previously provided).  Any 1^st quarter 2021 estimated tax payments, however, should still be mailed by April 15^th to avoid penalties.

For returns still in process in our office, we are continuing to work diligently to get returns completed in the order we received them.  Some 2020 returns with unemployment income, however, cannot be filed until we receive guidance from the IRS on recent law changes (the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021).  Once the IRS issues that guidance and our tax software provider implements the updates in our software, we can get those returns finalized.

Despite the Federal due date change to May 17^th, returns in our office may still require extensions past the May 17^th deadline.  We continue to work to complete as many returns as possible; however, depending on when our software is able to handle non-taxable unemployment income, whether state deadlines are adjusted, and our available workload over the next 5-6 weeks, not every return will be ready to file before May 17^th.  As necessary, we will contact you to discuss action items for Federal and/or state extensions.  In connection with filing these extensions, we will also incorporate a planned overpayment of your 2020 return to cover your 1^st quarter 2021 estimated payment requirements (as applicable). 

Thank you in advance for your understanding as we work through this busy time of year.  If you have any questions about how the deadline change impacts your specific situation, please feel free to reach out to your BenderCPA tax advisor.