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IRS Postpones Tax Filing Deadline To May 17
By: Brian Naylor | Suzanne Nuyen | NPR
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPR) — If you’ve been putting off filing your tax return this year, here’s some good news. The IRS and Treasury Department have delayed the filing deadline by another month.
Democratic leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee called the extension “absolutely necessary.”
The announcement means taxpayers can also delay payment of money owed to the IRS for the 2020 tax year normally due in April to May 17. Payers that need more time to file returns can file Form 4868 to request an extension until Oct. 15, but must still pay taxes owed by May 17.
The postponement only applies to federal income returns and taxes. Due dates for the filing of state taxes may be different.
With the original April 15 deadline less than a month away, there have been numerous last-minute changes to the tax laws because of the COVID-19 relief bill that President Biden signed into law last week. One big change made the first $10,200 in unemployment insurance collected in 2020 tax-exempt for many recipients.
Last year, the filing date was pushed back to July because of the coronavirus pandemic. The IRS, which has seen its budgets cut by Congress and its staff reduced in recent years, is still processing millions of paper returns from that year.
The agency said Wednesday it has made payments from the relief bill to some 90 million Americans.
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