The IRS announced on Wednesday that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021.

NOTE: Taxpayers located in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana already have until June 15, 2021 to file federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments and are not impacted by this announcement.  

For individual taxpayers not residing in these states or otherwise qualifying for earlier relief, the IRS’s latest announcement also postpones federal income tax payments for the 2020 tax year otherwise due on April 15th until May 17th, without penalties and interest. This relief does not apply to 2021 estimated tax payments due on April 15, 2021.

The federal tax filing deadline postponement to May 17th only applies to individual federal income returns and tax payments, and does not address gift tax returns, trust tax returns, or other federal filings otherwise due on April 15th.  Also, it does not apply to state tax payments or payments of any other type of federal tax.  For this reason, we recommend that you contact your tax provider to discuss any action that may still be needed before the upcoming April 15th tax filing deadline.

We Are Here to Help

At Maxwell Locke & Ritter, our team members have extensive experience helping individuals with their tax planning needs. Please reach out to the ML&R team if you have questions about these updates and how they may affect your situation.