COVID-19: Tax Deadlines & RMDs

Elisabeth Hawbaker |

It’s almost April 15th and you all know what that means…well, in a typical year that would mean your income taxes are due, but for 2020, that’s not the case. Due to the spread of COVID-19 across the United States, income tax filing and payment due dates have been extended. Also, Required Minimum Distributions for 2020 have been suspended.

Income Tax Filing

  • 2019 Federal, PA (State), & Local taxes extended until July 15th –
    • Federal – Federal income tax filing and payment due date is extended to July 15, 2020.1

New Schedule for 2020 Federal Estimated Tax Payments2

Quarter        Normal Due Date                             NEW Due Date

1                      April 15, 2020                                     July 15, 2020

2                      June 15, 2020                                     July 15, 2020

3                      September 15, 2020                        September 15, 2020

4                      January 15, 2021                               Jan. 15, 2021       

 

  • Pennsylvania – PA income tax filing and payment due dates are extended to July 15, 2020. This extension also applies to estimated payments for the first and second quarters of 2020.3
  • Local – PA Local governments will follow the Pennsylvania government in decisions regarding tax extensions (and payment dates).
  • IRA contributions and Health Savings Contributions for 2019 – normally due April 15th – an extension has been granted to make 2019 contributions until July 15th.
  • Continue to provide us your tax documents – Please note that even though the tax filing deadline has been extended, we ask that you do your best to respond to our questions and requests for documents in a timely manner as we are working remotely to complete all tax returns.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

  • What is an RMD? – A Required Minimum Distribution is the minimum amount you must withdraw from your retirement account each year once you reach age 72 (70 ½ if you reached 70 ½ before January 1, 2020)
  • RMDs Suspended—The CARES Act suspends the RMDs in 2020 for a wide variety of retirement accounts (for both owners as well as beneficiaries) as well as the ability to return current-year distributions.

As a reminder, our office is closed, and we are working remotely. We will continue to monitor our email, answering machine, fax, & mail if you should need to contact us during this time. As always, thank you for your patience and understanding as we all try to adjust to this new normal.

Be well!