The AICPA is asking the Department of the Treasury (DoT) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide taxpayers and tax professionals with certainty and stability by announcing any pending tax filing and payment deadline postponements no later than March 1.
In the attached letter sent on February 23, the AICPA urges Treasury and the IRS to:
- Let taxpayers and preparers know by March 1, 2021 if the tax filing and payment deadlines will change. If Treasury and IRS decide to shift payment and filing deadlines, the extended date should be June 15, 2021.
- Provide taxpayers with relief from both the underpayment of estimated tax and late payment penalties for the 2020 taxable year and expand the existing temporary e-signature relief.
- Halt compliance actions until the IRS is prepared to devote the necessary resources for a proper and timely resolution of the matter.
The letter specifies that at a minimum, the IRS should halt automatic collections activities of liens and levies for at least 90 days after the April 15 (or the postponed) filing deadline.
Conversations about an extended deadline have intensified in the last week as Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee sent a letter to the IRS to asking Commissioner Rettig to extend the tax deadline until July 15.
Comments from the IRS about the tax deadline have been inconsistent. The IRS has said repeatedly that taxpayers and tax professionals should assume that the April 15 deadline will not change, but Commissioner Rettig commented last month that “the IRS will not commit to keeping an April 15 filing deadline if Congress approves a third round of stimulus payments.” The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass its version of a COVID relief bill, which includes stimulus checks, on Friday, February 26. President Biden wants to have the COVID-19 relief plan approved by both the House and Senate by March 14.
If you have questions about this issue or other policy matters, please contact NCACPA Director of Advocacy Robert Broome, CAE.