Treasury Secretary Announces 90-Day Delay in Tax Payment Deadline

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced this week that taxpayers may get a bit of relief due to the Coronavirus issue affecting the Nation. Mnuchin declared a 90-day deferral of taxes owed with no interest or penalties . While this provides for some relief due to the COVID-19 issue, it’s important to keep in mind that the filing deadline for individual and C corporation returns is still April 15th.  The deferral is only for the payment of taxes for 90 days (July 15th), not a filing delay. While other states have followed the IRS’ lead, Illinois has not announced its position on this payment relief as of March 19th. If not changed, an individual’s and corporation’s Illinois tax will still need to paid by April 15th. We’ll keep you updated on this Illinois situation.

The IRS and Treasury Department released Notice 2020-17 on March 19th to better explain what payments can be deferred. We have highlighted a few key components of this information:

  • Individuals can defer up to $1 million in income tax payments due on April 15th
  • C corporations and consolidated C corp groups may defer up to $10 million in tax payments due on April 15th
  • Only income taxes and self employment taxes on self employment income can be deferred
  • The extensions also apply to first quarter estimated payments for individuals and C Corporations due April 15th
  • The extensions do not apply to payroll deposits
  • The extensions do not apply to the second quarter estimates as they are due on June 15th

The IRS and Treasury Department will provide more guidance as needed. Our team will keep you advised as more information comes in. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Click here to read Notice 2020-17.

A Message From Our Team

Dear Clients and Friends,

As our firm continues to monitor the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) situation, we wanted to take a few minutes to reach out to our clients, friends, and community. As you are aware, we are in the heart of the busiest time of year for our industry. Scheffel Boyle remains fully operational in our seven offices – Alton, Edwardsville, Belleville, Highland, Jerseyville, Columbia, and Carrollton, IL. We are and will continue to be dedicated to serving and advising you. We are focused on high quality service and the health and safety of our clients, team members, business partners, vendors, and their families.

We are currently reviewing and updating internal policies, particularly regarding in-person meetings and office visitors. At this time, we have taken the following measures to ensure service continuity remains strong, but also that important safety precautions are taken:

  1. Encouraging meetings over the phone with clients rather than face-to-face
  2. Promoting an easy, secure upload of client documents through our online portal, ShareFile. Please contact your Scheffel Boyle team member for details on how to use this feature.
  3. Limiting non-essential employee travel and client contact
  4. Strict return from illness policies and exposure policy with quarantine period
  5. Sanitizers distributed throughout offices
  6. Frequent disinfecting wipe-downs of common areas in all offices

Our leadership is closely monitoring Federal, State, local government, and IRS updates regarding both this issue and our usual deadlines during busy season. We are also taking actions to have as little disruption as possible to our professional work, while keeping safety top-of-mind. The CDC recommends the following routine preventative actions to help prevent the spread of virus, including everyday habits which we are stressing to all our team:

  1. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. If soap and water aren’t available, use an alcohol-based sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol.
  2. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
  4. Stay home when you are sick or have been exposed to someone with the virus.
  5. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
  6. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using disinfectant wipes.
  7. Avoid contact with anyone who has recently been outside the United States

Our policies and the measures we take internally during this crisis are fluid and will remain adaptive as the situation evolves. We will communicate with our clients if our current situation, policies, or procedures were to change.

Please reach out to our team with any questions or concerns you may have during this time. We remain dedicated to serving you and doing things for the health and safety of our team, clients, community, and friends.

 

Sincerely,

The Scheffel Boyle Team