IRS
Some Tax Pros Want an Extension of the Tax Year
Last year, with the U.S. facing the then-new COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on government, businesses and individuals, the IRS pushed the tax deadline from the usual date of April 15 until July 15. But that was 2020.
Feb. 09, 2021
Last year, with the U.S. facing the then-new COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on government, businesses and individuals, the IRS pushed the tax deadline from the usual date of April 15 until July 15. But that was 2020.
This is 2021, and the deadline for income taxes to be filed in the U.S. is again April 15, 2021. But even after a year of living with COVID’s effects, shutdowns and remote working, many tax professionals think another overall tax season extension, as happened last year, could be beneficial.
The National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP) issued a survey to tax professionals in December 2020 with questions about the 2020 filing season, its extended deadline and more.
Of the 589 respondents, 61.8% reported they thought the July 15, 2020, filing extension for individual returns was positive for them as a practitioner, and 77% of tax professionals thought the extension was positive for their clients.
As a follow up, 53% of respondents were in favor of another filing extension in 2021.
Other findings include:
- 73% of respondents expect the lack of guidance from the IRS on new tax provisions related to COVID-19 relief to be the biggest challenge for 2021.
- 66% of respondents expect the biggest challenge for taxpayers in the 2021 filing season to be understanding the tax impacts of COVID-19, including the economic impact payments, COVID distributions and the earned income credit.
NATP continues to monitor the 2021 tax season filing deadlines and will initiate conversations with the IRS and advocate on behalf of tax professionals and their clients as needed.