In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has stated that all taxpayers and businesses will have until July 15, 2020, to file and make tax payments for tax year 2019 without interest or penalties. Accordingly, the normal IRS tax-filing and tax-payment date of April 15, 2020, has now been postponed for three months to July 15, 2020.

Taxpayers now have the ability to delay contributing to IRA accounts for tax year 2019 and making certain tax elections tied to the tax-filing deadline for tax year 2019, while preserving the right of taxpayers who are owed refunds to file their tax returns prior to July 15, 2020, to claim such refunds.

Taxpayers should consult with Chambliss or their personal tax advisors to determine whether the filing or payment deadlines for state or local taxes have been similarly modified or extended. Secretary Mnuchin’s comments apply only to federal taxes.