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Topline
The Internal Revenue Service plans on extending this year’s April 15 tax filing deadline by about a month, Bloomberg and the Washington Post reported Wednesday, after scores of lawmakers urged the agency to give Americans more time to deal with a raft of delays and tax code changes.
IRS
Key Facts
The IRS plans on extending the deadline until some point in the middle of May, Bloomberg and the Post said, citing unnamed sources.
The IRS and Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Forbes.
Key Background
This tax season has been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The IRS had received fewer tax returns than usual as of last month, the agency is reportedly overwhelmed with a backlog of old returns, and the recently passed economic recovery legislation changed how unemployment benefits are taxed. As a result, some lawmakers — including House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Oversight Subcommittee Chair Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) — have called on the IRS to extend its April 15 deadline.
Crucial Quote
“Facing enormous strain and anxiety, taxpayers need flexibility now,” Pascrell and Neal wrote in a statement last week.
Tangent
Last year amid the start of the pandemic, the IRS delayed its deadline for filings and payments to July 15.
Further Reading
IRS Plans to Delay Tax Deadline to Mid-May After Chaotic Year (Bloomberg)
House Tax Committee Chides IRS About Slow Start To Tax Season, Urges Tax-Day Deadline Delay (Forbes)
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