By Diana Sponseller, vice president, Investment & Trust Services relationship manager at F&M Trust

 
Taxpayers and businesses now have until July 15, 2020, to file and pay their taxes without penalty. This is a 90-day extension from the traditional deadline of April 15.

The announcement from the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) comes as COVID-19 tightens its grip on the U.S., taking lives and sparking fears of recession. Millions of Americans who had jobs last month are now grappling with the new reality of income insecurity and, in many cases, unemployment, as states implore nonessential businesses to halt their operations.

In response, the Treasury Department and IRS recently announced that they are providing special tax filing and payment relief to individuals and businesses. Here’s the breakdown:

Individuals

Income payment deadlines for individual returns are being automatically extended to July 15, 2020, for up to $1 million of their 2019 tax due. The relief applies to all individual returns, including self-employed individuals, trusts and estates. You do not need to file any additional forms or contact the IRS to qualify.

Corporations

C corporations can delay federal income tax payments up to $10 million of their 2019 tax due. The relief also includes estimated tax payments for the tax year 2020 that are due on April 15, 2020.

Penalties and interest for both individuals and corporations will begin to accrue on any remaining unpaid balances on July 16, 2020.