Administration weighs delaying tax deadline amid outbreak
This July 24, 2018, file photo shows a portion of the 1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return form. The IRS began accepting and processing tax returns for individuals on Monday, Jan. 27, 2020.[AP/ Mark Lennihan]
The Trump administration is working on plans to delay the April 15 federal tax deadline for most individual taxpayers as well as small businesses.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Congress on Wednesday that the administration is “looking at providing relief to certain taxpayers and small businesses who will be able to get extensions on their taxes.”
Mnuchin said the administration believes a payment delay would have the effect of putting more than $200 billion back into the economy that would otherwise go to paying taxes next month.
He told a House Appropriations subcommittee that the administration could grant the tax delay without having to go to Congress for approval. A formal announcement should come soon, he said.
Mnuchin did not indicate what the new deadline would be.
In later comments to reporters, Mnuchin said that the delay would cover small- and medium-sized businesses and most individual taxpayers other than the very rich. He said Treasury will recommend to President Donald Trump that he approve the delay.
Mncuhin said the delay would allow individuals to not pay their taxes by the April 15 deadline. The IRS will also waive the payment of interest or other penalties for missing the deadline.
Currently under IRS rules, a taxpayer can get an automatic extension on filing their tax return but they are required to pay tax on the estimated amount they will owe when they do file the return.