The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is expected to announce Thursday that it’s pushing the deadline to file taxes back until May 17 to provide Americans greater flexibility as the nation continues its recovery from the economic toll of COVID-19.
Congressman Richard Neal | Photo credit: Office of Richard Neal
Congressman Richard Neal and Congressman Bill Pascrell, the chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee and House Oversight Subcommittee, praised the decision in a joint statement.
“This extension is absolutely necessary to give Americans some needed flexibility in a time of unprecedented crisis,” the statement said. “Under titanic stress and strain, American taxpayers and tax preparers must have more time to file tax returns.”
“And the IRS itself started the filing season late, continues to be behind schedule, and now must implement changes from the American Rescue Plan.”
The extension comes on the heels of the recent stimulus bill, which implemented a number of changes to the tax code, including a change that allows unemployed individuals to avoid paying taxes on the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits.
The IRS is telling individuals to await further guidance if they collected unemployment and also await further guidance before filing amended returns if you already filed, according to a report from Nasdaq.
The IRS is also responsible for the disbursement of the stimulus checks, many of which began landing into people’s bank accounts on Wednesday.
The change is only for federal taxes, but many states could follow suit and extend the deadline to file state taxes as well.