Taxes Due July 15: 5 Things FL Tax Filers Should Know
FLORIDA — While taxpayers got a reprieve this spring, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service did not extend the July 15 deadline for Americans, including residents in Florida, to file 2019 income tax returns and pay taxes owed for that year.
The Treasury and IRS previously extended tax filing and payment deadlines from April 15 to July 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Internal Revenue Service said taxpayers can get fast answers to their refund questions by using the "Where's My Refund?" tool available on IRS.gov and through the IRS2Go app. The IRS issues nine out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days, and the fastest way to get a refund is to file electronically and choose direct deposit.
Here are five things to know about filing and paying your taxes by July 15 in Florida:
You can still receive an extension to file your taxes.
Extensions past the July 15 date are still available for some aspects of your taxes. If you are unable to submit your paperwork by the given deadline, you can get an extension until Oct. 15.
However, this is only an extension to file, not an extension to pay.
The form to apply for an extension to file is available on the IRS website.
2. Failure to pay or properly file for an extension will result in penalties.
The possibility of penalties means that taking the extension to file your taxes is most likely the smart move, if you don’t have your paperwork ready to go by July 15.
The penalty for not filing is 5 percent of the unpaid tax you owe, tallied for each month you’re late for up to five months. Additionally, the underpayment penalty is 0.5 percent per month.
3. The standard deduction for each filing status for the 2019 tax year has changed slightly from 2018, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Here’s how.
The standard deduction is a dollar amount that reduces the amount of income on which you are taxed and varies according to your filing status.
Single: $12,200 — up from $12,000 for 2018.
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow: $24,400 — up from $24,000 for 2018.
Married filing separately: $12,200 — up from $12,000 for 2018.
Head of household: $18,350 — up from $18,000 for 2018.
4. What is the IRS saying?
IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said in a news release that “the IRS understands that those affected by the coronavirus may not be able to pay their balances in full by July 15, but we have many payment options to help taxpayers.”
As part of the IRS’ “The People First Initiative,” the federal agency is offering a variety of relief options to taxpayers experiencing hardships related to the COVID-19 crisis.
The options include postponing certain payments related to Installment Agreements and Offers in Compromise, to collection and limiting certain enforcement actions.
You can find more information about the “People First Initiative” on the IRS website.
5. Statistics show that fewer people are filing their taxes in 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic is affecting the number of people filing their tax returns.
According to IRS data, the number of processed tax returns on a year-over-year basis was down 11.4 percent as of June 19. Additionally, the number of refunds was down 10.8 percent.
People preparing for taxes were “stymied because of working from home and not being able to access all of the resources they had while in their offices,” Craig Richard, the director of tax services at Fiduciary Trust International, said in an interview with USA Today.
This article originally appeared on the St. Pete Patch
