October's Extended Due Date Is Fast Approaching

Article Highlights:

• October 15 extended due date for filing federal individual tax returns for 2019. 
• Late-filing penalty. 
• Interest on tax due. 
• Other October 15 deadlines. 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, the IRS postponed the original due date for filing 2019 returns to July 15, 2020. If you could not complete your 2019 tax return by July 15 and filed a request for additional time to file, that extension expires on October 15, 2020. Failing to file before the extension period runs out may cost you late-filing penalties.

There are no additional extensions available (except in designated disaster areas), so if you do not or will not have all of the information needed to complete your return by October 15, please call this office so that we can explore your options for meeting your extended filing deadline.

If you are waiting for a K-1 from a partnership, S-corporation or fiduciary return, the extended deadline for those returns is September 15 (September 30 for fiduciary returns); so you should probably make inquiries if you have not received that information yet.

Late-filed individual federal returns are subject to a penalty of 5% of the tax due for each month (or part of a month) for which a return is not filed, up to a maximum of 25% of the tax due. If you are required to file a state return and do not do so, the state will also charge a late-file penalty. The filing extension deadline for individual returns is also October 15 for most states.

In addition, interest continues to accrue on any balance due, currently at the rate of 3% per year. This rate is subject to quarterly adjustment.

If this office is waiting for some missing information to complete your return, we will need that information at least a week before the October 15 due date. Please call this office immediately if you anticipate complications related to providing the needed information so that we can determine a course of action to avoid the potential penalties.

Additional October 15, 2020 Deadlines – In addition to being the final deadline to file 2019 individual returns on extension in a timely manner, October 15 is also the deadline for the following actions:

• FBAR Filings – Taxpayers with foreign financial accounts exceeding an aggregate value of $10,000 at any time during 2019 must file a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) electronically with the Treasury Department. The original due date for the 2019 report was April 15, but individuals have been granted an automatic extension to file until October 15, 2020. 
  
  
• SEP-IRAs – October 15, 2020 is the deadline for a self-employed individual to set up and contribute to a SEP-IRA for 2019. The deadline for contributions to traditional and Roth IRAs for 2019 was July 15, 2020, instead of the usual April 15 contribution due date because of the COVID-19 emergency, but no further extension is available. 
  
  
• Special Note: Disaster Victims – If you reside in a presidentially declared disaster area, the IRS and most states provide additional time to file various returns and make payments. 

Please call this office for information on extended due dates of other types of filings and payments as well as extended filing dates in disaster areas.

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