In an effort to help you understand the ever-changing tax deadlines, we went to the source (IRS, CA FTB) to get the details. The following is a summary of the new deadlines that we thought you should know about:
The IRS extended the tax filing deadlines for your 2019 taxes from April 15 to July 15, 2020. The IRS also clarified other details that we thought were important:
- You also have until July 15 to contribute to an IRA account and have it posted to the 2019 tax year.
- For those of you that pay estimated taxes, the IRS stated that the first-quarter 2020 estimated tax payment that would have been due on April 15 is now delayed to July 15. BUT the second 2020 estimated tax installment is still due June 15, 2020 This makes the second payment due before the first payment! Hopefully America is back up and running so this does not become an issue but, if not, we expect the IRS to issue another statement regarding the due dates.
- The IRS also clarified that taxpayers “do not have to be sick, or quarantined, or have any other impact from COVID-19” to qualify for the new deadlines.
- California is following the IRS filing guidelines.
- Note, if you think you will receive a refund, go ahead and file as soon as possible.
California Property tax is still due on April 10, 2020. This is paid to the county that you live in. The state of California is encouraging the counties to waive penalties for late payments. The county tax collectors have the authority to waive penalties resulting from a late payment due to “reasonable cause and circumstances beyond the taxpayer’s control. Relief under this rule is discretionary and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Taxpayers unable to pay by April 10 will need to request relief and demonstrate to the tax collector that the inability to make a timely payment was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the Los Angeles County Tax Collector has set up a special team to process penalty relief requests, and has advised impacted taxpayers to submit a request for penalty relief online, beginning on April 11.
In Orange County, Shari Freidenrich, the county treasurer-tax collector released the following statement “For taxpayers that do not make payment of property taxes due to COVID-19 by April 10, we expect them to submit a Penalty Cancellation Request Form and documentation to support the cancellation of penalties as allowed in limited circumstances under current state law.”
As soon as the stimulus bill is finally approved, we will post a summary of the final package. This will include the payroll tax, unemployment, small business loans and stimulus check guidelines.
Stay safe, sane and healthy!
