As Americans were beginning to grapple with coronavirus and lockdown this spring, the government decided to postpone the April 15^th tax filing deadline to July 15^th. Now that the deadline is approaching, here are some things you should be aware of:

1. Taxpayers must file or request an extension by July 15^th, or they may face one of several penalties.
2. You may request an extension via the IRS website that can extend your filing deadline to October 15^th.
3. Should you be granted an extension to file, it is not also an extension to pay. If you believe that your prior withholdings or other payments for 2019 were not enough, you may need to estimate what you owe and submit a payment before July 15^th.
4. If you cannot pay, know that the IRS does work with individuals to establish payment plans. It is important to remember that, according to the IRS:  “The failure-to-file penalty is generally more than the failure-to-pay penalty.”
5. If you are owed a refund, the IRS is currently processing payments and most are submitted to taxpayers within three weeks. Further, if you file on time you may be do interest dating back to April 15^th. 
6. For taxpayers that file estimated taxes quarterly, the traditional first quarter and second quarter payments must be made by the July 15^th deadline.  
7. For those with simple returns or the “do it yourself-er” types, you can file electronically for FREE at the IRS website while being socially distant.  

*This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction