IRS Announces Penalty Relief

Last week the IRS announced penalty relief for most taxpayers that were affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic. This relief will apply to taxpayers for the years 2019 and 2020 and will waive penalties provided that returns are filed on or before September 30, 2022. Banks, employers, and other businesses are also provided relief for return penalties for 2019 returns filed on or before August 1, 2020. For the tax year 2020, that deadline for relief was on or before August 1, 2021.

The IRS says that the relief will help them focus their resources on backlogged tax returns and providing additional tax correspondence. The IRS issued a series of notices related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including:

Notice 2020-17, I.R.B. 2020-15, 590 – which provides information about postponing the due date for some Federal tax payments

Notice 2020-18, I.R.B. 2020-15, 590 – which expanded relief postponing the due date for filing Federal tax returns that were originally due on April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020.

Notice 2021-21, I.R.B. 2021-15, 986 – which postponed the due date for Federal income tax returns and made certain Federal tax payments due on May 17, 2021, instead of April 15, 2021.

If you have any questions, please contact the professionals at the Center for Financial, Legal, and Tax Planning, Inc., at (618) 997-3436 for more information.