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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday that the deadline for filing federal taxes will move from April 15 to July 15 — a move to ease the burden the coronavirus outbreak has put on individuals and the economy.
“At @realDonaldTrump’s direction, we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties,” he tweeted.
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He clarified that taxpayers could still file for refunds now, tweeting: “I encourage all taxpayers who may have tax refunds to file now to get your money.”
The move had been expected in some form since earlier this month.
President Trump addressed the change in his daily coronavirus task force briefing.
“Hopefully by that time we’ll have people getting back to their lives,” Trump said. “Families and businesses will have this extra time to file with no interest or penalties.”
He continued: “However if you have refunds or credits you would like to claim, you may still file. In other words you can file early if you are owed money by the IRS.”
The administration had announced earlier in the week that it would delay the payments, a move that Mnuchin said would leave $300 billion in the economy at a critical time.
By extending the filing deadline, the government is essentially allowing individuals and businesses to hold on to their money as they deal with lost revenue or paychecks resulting from the economic slowdown as federal and state governments try to keep people home so they don’t spread the coronavirus.
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The move comes as Congress and the administration hash out details for a massive stimulus package that, among other things, could send checks worth as much as $1,200 to qualifying individuals amid the crisis, as layoffs mount and more economic uncertainty awaits.
The draft legislation, obtained by Fox News, would provide minimum payments of $600, and aid would be phased down at adjusted gross income thresholds of $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 per couple. Additionally, there would be $500 payments for each child.
The rebate amount is slated to then be reduced by $5 for each $100 a taxpayer’s income exceeds the legislation’s threshold. The amount is therefore reduced to zero for single taxpayers with incomes exceeding $99,000 and $198,000 for joint filers.
The IRS would determine income based on taxpayers’ 2018 tax returns, or 2019 tax returns in cases where there is no 2018 return.
Fox News’ Gregg Re and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
