In the early hours of March 20, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has extended the deadline for filing of federal income tax returns to July 15, 2020.  All individuals and businesses will have this additional three-month period to file without incurring penalties or interest. This extension is part of an ongoing effort to provide relief in response to the financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of now, the IRS has not released an official written guidance regarding this extension. Although the announcement did not include many details, presumably the filing deadlines are extended without the need for filing extensions. We will provide more details as they become available. 

Earlier this week, the IRS issued Notice 2020-17 to postpone the due date for making a Federal income tax payment to July 15, 2020, without extending the deadline for filing Federal income tax returns. The announcement today also extended the filling deadline to July 15, 2020.