Kelly Hayes
U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist is calling on the Internal Revenue Service to extend the filing deadline for 2020 tax returns.
In a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, Crist urges the IRS to push back the original April 15 deadline for 2020 filing until July 15. The Pinellas County Congressman argues that tax payers and preparers need more time to process the changes brought on by the recently signed American Rescue Plan.
“The American Rescue Plan is bringing relief to families and communities across our state and country,” Crist said in a news release. “But the welcome relief includes positive changes to our tax laws that families, small business owners, and unemployed workers will need more time to figure out before filing their taxes. Extending the IRS filing deadline by at least three months is a commonsense solution giving Americans the time they need to get their taxes done right.”
Crist provides Rettig several reasons why he is concerned about the upcoming deadline, including tax uncertainty for first and second round Paycheck Protection Program loans, changes to the employee retention credit (ERC), IRS staffing shortfalls and resulting impacts and changes to tax law from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
“Due to the unique challenges and uncertainty created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and new information from the American Rescue Plan, I believe maintaining the April 15 deadline would not serve taxpayers nor the Internal Revenue Service,” Crist writes in his letter.
Biden signed the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package into law last Thursday, and the plan includes several tax reforms. That includes changes to the way unemployment benefits and PPP are taxed, including improvements to the Employee Retention Tax Credit being implemented.
Under the plan, families will also be able to receive $3,000 per child and $3,600 per child under the age of 6 with the expansion of the child tax credit, which is typically only $2,000 per child — a change being promoted by neighboring U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor.
