Paying when filing electronically

Taxpayers who filed electronically and scheduled their payment with an Electronic Funds Withdrawal, and want to reschedule their payment to the July 15 due date, can call the IRS e-file Payment Services automated line at 888-353-4537 to cancel their payment no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern time two business days prior to the scheduled payment date. This means taxpayers who originally scheduled their payment on April 15 and want to reschedule it for July 15, need to take action no later than Monday, April 13 at midnight Eastern time. Taxpayers are reminded that they will need to schedule their tax payment for the new tax deadline date of July 15.

The IRS is unable to process paper tax returns, respond to paper correspondence or staff toll-free live service lines. Please use all electronic options available to you on IRS.gov or through your tax software provider.

Note:  Paper returns include 1040X returns and “replacement” returns

IRS operations to process third-party authorizations are now closed. Please do not fax requests for Centralized Authorization File (CAF) numbers until further notice.

The Income Verification Express Service also is temporarily on hold. Possible alternative for tax administration purposes: clients can go to Get Transcript Online, create an account to verify their identities and immediately review or print a tax transcript.

Our efforts to protect IRS employees, taxpayers and our stakeholders mean extremely limited services are currently available.

Click here to access Fact Sheets

Background:

Although most of our partners have decided to suspend or cancel their free volunteer tax programs this year, many site coordinators and volunteers wish to continue serving their communities while ensuring the health and safety of their volunteers and clients. Additionally, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced the extension of the filing and payment deadline to July 15, 2020 (for tax year 2019 returns), extending the filing season by an additional 90 days.

Alternative Filing Fact Sheets:

In order to assist our partners with this effort, SPEC has created two fact sheets to provide general guidelines for partners who wish to continue offering free tax services to their communities:

• Publication 5408: Expanded Virtual VITA/TCE Process for the Remainder of 2020 Filing Season
• Publication 5410: FSA Remote Process for Partners

Posted 4/1/2020

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service today announced that Social Security beneficiaries who are not typically required to file tax returns will not need to file an abbreviated tax return to receive an Economic Impact Payment. Instead, payments will be automatically deposited into their bank accounts.

“Social Security recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return do not to need take an action, and will receive their payment directly to their bank account,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.

The IRS will use the information on the Form SSA-1099 and Form RRB-1099 to generate $1,200 Economic Impact Payments to Social Security recipients who did not file tax returns in 2018 or 2019. Recipients will receive these payments as a direct deposit or by paper check, just as they would normally receive their benefits.

Direct Link: Click Here

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today launched the Employee Retention Credit, designed to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payroll. The refundable tax credit is 50% of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19.

Does my business qualify to receive the Employee Retention Credit?

The credit is available to all employers regardless of size, including tax-exempt organizations. There are only two exceptions: State and local governments and their instrumentalities and small businesses who take small business loans.

Qualifying employers must fall into one of two categories:

1. The employer’s business is fully or partially suspended by government order due to COVID-19 during the calendar quarter.
2. The employer’s gross receipts are below 50% of the comparable quarter in 2019. Once the employer’s gross receipts go above 80% of a comparable quarter in 2019, they no longer qualify after the end of that quarter.

These measures are calculated each calendar quarter.

How is the credit calculated?

The amount of the credit is 50% of qualifying wages paid up to $10,000 in total. Wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before Jan. 1, 2021, are eligible for the credit. Wages taken into account are not limited to cash payments, but also include a portion of the cost of employer provided health care.

How do I know which wages qualify?

Qualifying wages are based on the average number of a business’s employees in 2019.

Employers with less than 100 employees: If the employer had 100 or fewer employees on average in 2019, the credit is based on wages paid to all employees, regardless if they worked or not. If the employees worked full time and were paid for full time work, the employer still receives the credit.

Employers with more than 100 employees:  If the employer had more than 100 employees on average in 2019, then the credit is allowed only for wages paid to employees who did not work during the calendar quarter.

I am an eligible employer. How do I receive my credit?

Employers can be immediately reimbursed for the credit by reducing their required deposits of payroll taxes that have been withheld from employees’ wages by the amount of the credit.

Eligible employers will report their total qualified wages and the related health insurance costs for each quarter on their quarterly employment tax returns or Form 941 beginning with the second quarter. If the employer’s employment tax deposits are not sufficient to cover the credit, the employer may receive an advance payment from the IRS by submitting Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19.

Eligible employers can also request an advance of the Employee Retention Credit by submitting Form 7200.

Where can I find more information on the Employer Retention Credit and other COVID-19 economic relief efforts?

Updates on the implementation of this credit,  Frequently Asked Questions on Tax Credits for Required Paid Leave and other information can be found on the Coronavirus page of IRS.gov.

March 27, 2020

Due to staff limitations, Practitioner Priority Service line, the e-Services Help Desk line and the e-Services FIRE and AIR system help desks are closed until further notice.

Please make IRS.gov your first option for answers to questions.

We are temporarily suspending acceptance of new Income Verification Express Services (IVES) requests at this time and are experiencing delays with existing IVES processing as well as CAF number authorizations.

Practitioners with e-Services accounts and with client authorization can access the Transcript Delivery System to obtain prior-year transcripts. Taxpayers should use Where’s My Refund? and Get Transcript, both common requests.

Additionally, we are unable to answer any questions as yet on stimulus payments.

Normal operations will resume as soon as possible. Please check IRS.gov for updates.

We apologize for the inconvenience during this difficult period.

Tax Day now July 15: Treasury, IRS extend filing deadline and federal tax payments regardless of amount owed

WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today that the federal income tax filing due date is automatically extended from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020.

Taxpayers can also defer federal income tax payments due on April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020, without penalties and interest, regardless of the amount owed. This deferment applies to all taxpayers, including individuals, trusts and estates, corporations and other non-corporate tax filers as well as those who pay self-employment tax.

Taxpayers do not need to file any additional forms or call the IRS to qualify for this automatic federal tax filing and payment relief.  Individual taxpayers who need additional time to file beyond the July 15 deadline, can request a filing extension by filing Form 4868 through their tax professional, tax software or using the Free File link on IRS.gov. Businesses who need additional time must file Form 7004.

The IRS urges taxpayers who are due a refund to file as soon as possible. Most tax refunds are still being issued within 21 days.

“Even with the filing deadline extended, we urge taxpayers who are owed refunds to file as soon as possible and file electronically,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “Filing electronically with direct deposit is the quickest way to get refunds. Although we are curtailing some operations during this period, the IRS is continuing with mission-critical operations to support the nation, and that includes accepting tax returns and sending refunds. As a federal agency vital to the overall operations of our country, we ask for your personal support, your understanding – and your patience. I’m incredibly proud of our employees as we navigate through numerous different challenges in this very rapidly changing environment.”

The IRS will continue to monitor issues related to the COVID-19 virus, and updated information will be posted on a special coronavirus page on IRS.gov.

This announcement comes following the President’s emergency declaration last week pursuant to the Stafford Act. The Stafford Act is a federal law designed to bring an orderly and systematic means of federal natural disaster and emergency assistance for state and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to aid citizens. It was enacted in 1988.

Treasury and IRS will issue additional guidance as needed and continue working with Congress, on a bipartisan basis, on legislation to provide further relief to the American people.

IRS released Notice 2020-18.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-20-18.pdf

Please make sure you check  your state specific deadlines.  Some have moved their deadlines, but some have not.