The AICPA on Thursday, March 4, 2021, sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig and Acting Assistant Secretary Mark Mazur urgently asking for the deadlines for filing all 2020 federal income tax and information returns and for making payments to be extended from April 15 to June 15, 2021, in response to a number of issues that make it impossible for many taxpayers to meet the April 15 deadline. The letter follows up on the AICPA’s earlier request for tax deadline certainty.
Among the many reasons the AICPA stated that a postponement is needed are the delay of the start of the filing season until Feb. 12, a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans, and changes to the employee retention credit. In addition, continued stay-at-home orders make it difficult to access taxpayer data, particularly among certain populations such as the elderly, and the IRS continues to be short of staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the letter, the AICPA “urgently request[s] that the 2020 Federal income tax, information returns, and payments (e.g., extension and estimated payments) originally due April 15, 2021 be granted additional time to file and pay until June 15, 2021.”
— Sally P. Schreiber, J.D., (Sally.Schreiber@aicpa-cima.com) is a JofA senior editor.