Will you be missing tax filing deadlines? All tax deadlines for the tax year 2019 are listed here. This article will guide you in the right direction if you find that you will be filing your taxes late this year. The simple steps presented here will help you get back in good standing with the IRS.
Will you be unable to pay your taxes on time? Don’t worry; we’ll cover that too. Let’s look at what your options are if you will be unable to pay the taxes due. The IRS offers several payment assistance programs for those taxpayers who are unable to pay on time.
Keep in mind that tax payments are due on April 15 even if you have filed a tax extension. There are penalties for both filing late and paying late.
The penalty for filing late is ten times more than that for paying late, so be sure to file a tax extension if you cannot get your tax return turned in on April 15. An extension will give you until October 15 to file your tax return.
2020 Tax Filing Deadlines for the 2019 Tax Year
January 31, 2020
- Deadline for businesses to send out W-2 forms to their employees (former and current)
- Deadline for businesses to supply 1099 forms reporting things such as:
- Non-employee compensation
- Bank interest
- Dividends
- Retirement plan distributions
February 18, 2020
- Deadline for financial institutions to send out:
- IRS Form 1099-B relating to sales of stock, bonds, or mutual funds through a brokerage account
- IRS Form 1099-S relating to real estate transactions
- IRS Form 1099-MISC forms
February 28, 2020
- Deadline for businesses to send 1099 forms and 1096 forms to the IRS
March 15, 2020
- Deadline to file Calendar Year S-Corporations tax returns (IRS Form 1120-S)
March 16, 2020
- Deadline to file Partnership tax returns (IRS Form 1065)
- Deadline to file a 5-month extension for manual Partnership tax returns (IRS Form 4868) and for automatic Partnership tax returns (IRS Form 7004)
- Deadline for the Calendar Year Corporations to request an automatic 6-month extension (IRS Form 7004)
April 15, 2020
- NOTE: Deadlines have been extended to July 15, 2020, for individuals and corporations
June 1, 2020
- Deadline for Financial Institutions to send out IRS Form 5498 to report balances in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA)
June 15, 2020
- Deadline for Americans living outside of the U.S.A. to file Individual tax returns
- Deadline for Americans living outside of the U.S.A. to file a 4-month extension (IRS Form 4868)
July 15, 2020
- Deadline to file individual tax returns (IRS Form 1040)
- Deadline to request an automatic 6-month extension for Individual tax returns (IRS Form 4868)
- Deadline to make contributions to traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Health Savings Account, SEP-IRA, and/or individual 401(k) for the 2019 tax year.
- Deadline to file Foreign Bank Account Reports tax returns (IRS FinCen Form 114)
- Deadline to file Estates and Trusts Income tax returns (IRS Form 1041)
- Deadline to request a 5-month extension to file Estates and Trusts Income tax returns (IRS Form 7004)
- Deadline to file Calendar Year C-Corporations tax returns (IRS Form 1120)
September 15, 2020
- Extended Deadline for S-Corporations Income tax returns (IRS Form 1120-S)
- Extended Deadline for Partnership tax returns (IRS Form 1065)
- Deadline to file Corporate tax returns with authorized extension request (IRS Forms 1120, 1120-A, 1120-S)
September 30, 2020
- Extended Deadline for Estates and Trusts Income tax returns (IRS Form 1041)
October 1, 2020
- Deadline for Self-Employed Individuals or Small Business Owners to establish a (SIMPLE-IRA)
October 15, 2020
- Extended Deadline for C-Corporations Income tax returns (IRS Form 1120)
- Extended Deadline for Foreign Bank Account Reports (IRS FinCen Form 114 with Form 1040)
- Final Deadline to fund a SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) for the tax year 2019 if an automatic extension was requested
November 2020
- Final Extended Deadline to file individual tax returns for 2019 (IRS Form 1040)
You should now be prepared to know when to expect documents and what the tax deadlines for the 2019 tax year are (Mercado, 2020).
IRS Penalties
What is the Penalty for Filing Late?
“If you file your 2019 Tax Return after the deadline, and you did not get an extension, then you will be assessed a penalty of 5% of your balance due per month or part of a month a return is filed late (for up to five months). The failure-to-file penalty amount will be reduced by the amount you owe for the failure-to-pay penalty for any month that both penalties apply. If you file more than 60 days late, your minimum failure-to-file penalty will be 100% of your unpaid taxes or $210 (whichever is less) (e-File, 2020).”
What is the Penalty for Paying Taxes Owed Late?
“If you do not pay the full amount you owe by the tax deadline, even if you file an extension, you will be assessed a penalty of 0.5% of your balance due per month or part of a month after the deadline. The amount of your failure-to-pay penalty will not exceed 25% of your back taxes.
If you do not pay your full balance due, you will also owe interest on the unpaid amount. The interest rate is set quarterly by the federal government. The current 2020 interest rate for underpayment of taxes is 5% (e-File, 2020).”
Will You Owe Late Filing AND Payment Penalties?
Generally, you will owe penalties and interest if you owe taxes and file and/or pay late. You will most likely have to pay both penalties: the Failure-to-File penalty and the Failure-to-Pay penalty.
The Failure-to-File penalty is 5% of the tax balance due for each month your taxes are unpaid to a maximum of 25% of your unpaid taxes. If greater than 60 days late, the penalty will be 100% of your unpaid taxes or $210, whichever is less.
The Failure-to-Pay penalty is .5% of your unpaid balance due for each month your taxes are unpaid, but the penalty will not be greater than 25% of your unpaid taxes.
If both penalties apply during the same month, the Failure-to-File penalty is reduced to .5% per month. The 25% maximum applies to both penalties together.
It is recommended that you file your tax return right away. You should pay some or all of the tax payments that you owe as soon as you can. If you are not able to pay some or all of the taxes you owe, talk to the IRS; ask about entering the IRS installment agreement or other qualifying assistance programs that they have available for taxpayers with unexpected tax debt.
IRS Payment Assistance Programs
Are you unable to pay your taxes? Have you already exhausted all other options? It’s recommended that you pay the IRS as soon as possible. This may mean thinking outside of the box.
While it’s no one’s favorite option, you may need to borrow the money. Check with your bank for a personal loan or ask family and friends for the cash. You may even talk to your employer about cashing-in some of your employee benefits like paid time off.
The IRS does have ways to help taxpayers pay back what they owe. Some of the programs they offer include the IRS Installment Agreement, the Offer in Compromise Agreement, the IRS Abatement Program, and they offer the CNC (Currently Not Collectible) status to qualified taxpayers.
The IRS Installment Agreement
The installment plan offered by the IRS allows qualified taxpayers to pay off the amount they owe in installment payments. If you qualify, you will have 72 months to pay off the balance you owe. Keep in mind that interest will still accrue while you are on the plan. To request an installment plan, you need to use IRS Form 9465: Installment Agreement Request.
The Offer in Compromise Agreement
The Offer in Compromise Agreement is a type of debt forgiveness offered by the IRS. It is usually not an option, because it is very difficult to qualify for. It requires an application fee of $186, complete personal financial statements, initial agreed-upon offer payment, and IRS Form 656: Offer in Compromise. The application is explained in full in IRS Publication Form 656 Booklet: Offer in Compromise.
The IRS Abatement Program
The IRS Abatement Program helps taxpayers with some of the penalties they may owe because of their outstanding tax debt. To request the IRS abatement, you will need to complete IRS Form 843: Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement. This will not relieve you of your tax debt.
The Currently Not Collectible Status
The Currently Not Collectible Status helps taxpayers who cannot afford to pay any of the tax debt they owe at this time. Basically, the IRS agrees that you don’t have to make any tax payments until your financial situation improves. It’s a deferment. The best thing about this status is that it eliminates endless collection phone calls and letters.
Conclusion
Things happen, and it’s easy to miss deadlines. These are pretty important though. The tax deadline for most individuals is April 15 and the extended deadline for individual taxpayers is October 15. It’s very important to file your taxes because the IRS penalties can be quite steep.
Remember that even though tax returns can be extended until October 15, the tax payments are due on “tax day” (April 15). If you won’t be able to file on time, you should talk to the IRS. If tax debt is the issue, check out one of the several payment assistance programs for those taxpayers that the IRS offers.
Understand that there are penalties for both filing late and paying late. Since the penalty for filing late is so much more than that for paying late, file an extension if you cannot get your tax return turned in on April 15. An extension will give you until October 15 to file your tax return.
