Tax Filing Deadline Update Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

As you probably have heard, in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, yesterday Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announced that the due date for any tax payments normally due on April 15 may be delayed until July 15, 2020 without any penalties or interest imposed. Even though the payment date has been extended, no such extension was provided for filing beyond April 15, 2020. We will inform you if anything changes on that front. In the mean time we will continue to work under the assumption that either a tax return or an extension request must be filed on or before April 15, 2020. With no interest or penalties assessed, the IRS has no leverage to enforce filing of tax returns before July 15. What does that mean for us all?

In the same address, Secretary Mnuchin also said that you still should try to get your returns filed by April 15. Here are some reasons that you may want to use this time to get your returns prepared right away:

You may be getting refunds. The IRS will continue to process returns, especially electronically filed returns and process refunds – the Secretary specifically said so. This may be a source of much needed cash.

Even if we complete your returns and determine that there are taxes due, you will still have until July 15, 2020 to pay the balance without late payment penalties and interest. Filing now will let you know the amount due and give you three months more to determine how to pay the balance, if one exists.

There has been no mention of moving the extended due date of returns from the September 15 and October 15 due dates, so any delay in the process of getting tax returns prepared may result in delays in completing the returns later in the year.

The government still needs to keep their processes moving, and the information gathered by the Treasury Department while processing the nation’s tax returns is used in planning and budgeting for the future. A large delay in the processing of this information would be detrimental to the planning process of our government, as well as putting extra pressure on the system later in the year.

We are still in full operation during this time. We are working remotely from our homes, continuing to serve our clients, and are ready to complete your tax returns in the same, efficient manner you expect.

Working on tax information can help you get your mind off the stressful news! Let’s get this checked off your to do list!

Please note that your tax return may not be completed by 4/15 due to the high volume of work processed this time of year, though estimates of tax liabilities or refunds will be ready by 4/15, and we will continue working to complete returns as quickly as possible.

During the current shelter-in-place order, it may not be possible to physically get documents to us. The best way to get documents to us during this time is to scan them into a PDF file and to email them to us using our secure email facility. Some tips to make the scanning process more effective:

Complete your Organizer by hand before scanning it into a PDF file.

Please avoid sending us JPEG files (camera images) which are more time consuming to incorporate into files. There are many free apps allows you to convert pictures to PDF files.

Orient all pages the same way in the scan file. This will save preparation time that would otherwise be charged to the preparation of your returns.

Merge all scan files into one PDF file before sending, if possible.

If you have questions how to set up the File Share email, please call our office for guidance or visit our website where there are instructions how to email securely to us. You can reach Rachel Ahm on our team for assistance. Her email address is rahm@dbmcpa.com. Alternatively, look for a recent email from a DBM employee or partner. Below their signature is a link to Share File where you can upload your documents.

You will receive confirmation that we have received the email within a day or so. If you haven’t already, please remember to sign your engagement letter and include it with the information you send.

We will all get through this if we work together. In the meantime, stay safe and well.