Tag: Filing Deadline

IRS Faces Next Challenge: Reopening

Leave a comment

The IRS is trying to reopen dozens of offices around the country this week and trying to recall thousands of employees after they were sent home for months to telecommute. The IRS priorities are completing the $267 billion in stimulus payments that require a check, processing 2019 personal tax returns with refunds, and tackling the 10 million pieces of mail that have accumulated while they were at home telecommuting. They are also getting ready for the July 15, 2020 deadline.The major service centers remain closed for now and those that are open are not running at full strength. Refunds are being processed more slowly than usual and there is very little, if any, telephone assistance. The IRS is directing people to the IRS website when possible.  

Now is a Good Time to File

If you need to file your business or personal tax return by the July 15, 2020 deadline, then now is a good time. Give us a call at (713) 785-8939 and we will make an appointment. If you can’t get ready by July 15, then we can get an extension for you until September 15 for your business and October 15 for your personal income tax returns.

Till Next Time,
Robert Stevenson, CPA 
June 09, 2020

Why is the Deadline April 17 this Year?

1 Comment

This tax season, April 15 falls on a Sunday and Monday, April 16 is Emancipation Day. Emancipation Day is a holiday in Washington D.C. to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Compensated Emancipation Act, which President Abraham Lincoln signed on April 16, 1862. It is annually held on April 16 and is a legal holiday in Washington D.C., and it has the effect of nationally extending the due date for filing your personal and trust income tax returns. The Compensated Emancipation Act freed about 3,000 slaves in Washington D.C. in 1862, but slavery did not officially end in the United States until after the Civil War in 1865, when the House passed the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

If you don’t file your return by the due date or you don’t get an extension and you owe tax, then you will be subject to the late filing penalty and the late payment penalty. Together, they add up to 5% per month, or fraction thereof, up to a maximum of 25% of your unpaid tax. Please give me a call if you would like to file for an extension of time to file your return. If you know that you will owe additional tax with your return, then you must pay your tax with the extension to avoid the above penalties. Remember, this is an extension of time to file, not an extension of time to pay; you will have six months to get the job done—until October 15, 2018. See you soon.

That is all today. I look forward to visiting with you next week. Let me know if you have a question—you can send an email to robert@robertstevensoncpa.com or call (713) 785-8939. You can also leave a comment on this post.