Posted on 04/13/2010 5:50:40 PM PDT by betty boop
The Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday extended until May 11 the deadline for filing federal income tax returns, a move that will give people affected by the floods nearly a month longer than usual to get their taxes done.
The extension applies to all of Rhode Island, except Bristol County, which accounts for 5 percent of the state’s population, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.
The Rhode Island Division of Taxation will also extend its filing deadline to May 11 for all counties in Rhode Island without exception, state Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan said. “We will do the whole state,” he said.
The extensions granted by the IRS and by the state tax agency are far-reaching, establishing May 11 as the new deadline for:
•All individual income tax returns filed on any Form 1040, whether on paper or electronically.
•Quarterly estimated tax payments that are normally due April 15.
•Contributions that a taxpayer makes to an IRA with the intention of having it count for 2009.
In addition, those who want to deduct a loss for tax purposes related to the recent storms and floods now have the option to claim the loss on either their 2009 or 2010 returns, Sullivan and IRS spokeswoman Peggy Riley said.
Taken together, the changes represent a break for people hard-pressed by the floods, said Mary F. Bernard, former president of the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants.
“It will help all those people who are underwater right now” and who may need extra time to gather or reconstruct their financial records for tax purposes, said Bernard, director of state and local tax services at Kahn Litwin Renza & Co., Ltd., a CPA firm, which has its headquarters in Providence.
“It just takes one piece of stress off their minds at this point,” she said. “For people who have lost everything, the last thing on their minds” is taxes, she said.
For those who normally must make an estimated tax payment by April 15, the extension “gives people an extra month to come up with the money,” Bernard said.
And those who already have the funds for the estimated-tax installment will have use of their money longer, which could help in dealing with storm-related damage, said Patricia A. Thompson, vice chairwoman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ national tax executive committee.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who earlier on Wednesday had urged the IRS to extend the deadline, said that the IRS decision will provide “a small measure of relief” to those who are affected by the floods. “Tax season can be stressful, and this short-term extension will give Rhode Island families one less thing to worry about as they begin the daunting task of rebuilding their homes and businesses.” Reed said in a statement.
Thompson and Bernard said they could not recall another occasion in which the normal April 15 filing deadline was extended for a disaster affecting Rhode Island.
Those who take advantage of the extension will not have to make any special arrangements, Riley said.
IRS computers will recognize that the return is from someone in Providence, Kent, Washington or Newport counties, based on the ZIP code listed on the return, and will apply automatic relief from late-payment and late-filing penalties and interest that would otherwise apply, she said.
(A taxpayer who nevertheless receives a penalty notice in such a situation should call the IRS disaster hot line at 1-866-562-5227 to request relief, Riley said.)
Bristol County, R.I., was excluded from the IRS’ deadline extension because it was not listed in the portion of the federal government’s recent disaster declaration dealing with individual relief, Riley said. “But keep in mind that these things can be amended as time goes on,” she said.
For some taxpayers, the extensions could cause confusion. For example, as things stand now, a taxpayer in Bristol County, R.I., must file a federal return by April 15, but will have until May 11 to file a Rhode Island return, said Thompson, who is also tax partner at Piccerelli Gilstein & Co. LLP, a CPA firm in Providence.
In Massachusetts, the May 11 federal filing deadline applies to Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk and Worcester counties, Riley said.
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue said Wednesday night that the deadline for filing Massachusetts state income tax returns for taxpayers in those seven counties will be extended to May 11.
This is betty boop reporting, from the very soggy Commonwealth of Massachusetts, whose major state highways, Routes 20, 27, and 117, in my immediate vicinity, by which I need to get along on in order to get anywhere outside of my immediate community at all — were shut down for over a week, because they were underwater.
All things considered, I'm very glad for the very temporary reprieve.
I am going to play Captain Obvious here and make mention that this ONLY affects certain areas, not the entire U.S. Here’s part of what is on the IRS site..
“If you live in one of the following counties, your tax deadline of April 15 has been extended to May 11:
Massachusetts: Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Worcester Counties
Rhode Island: Kent, Newport, Providence, and Washington Counties
West Virginia: Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Mercer, and Raleigh Counties
Massachusetts has also extended the state income tax return filing deadline to May 11 for residents of the counties listed above.
Rhode Island has extended the state income tax return filing deadline to May 11 for all state residents.”
More at irs.gov
Don’t you still have to pay on 04/15?
This is betty boop reporting, from the very soggy Commonwealth of Massachusetts, whose major state highways, Routes 20, 27, and 117, in my immediate vicinity, by which I need to get along on in order to get anywhere outside of my immediate community at all — were shut down for over a week, because they were completely underwater.
RE: the Federal and state income-tax filing deadline in Rhode Island and Massachusetts: All things considered, I'm very glad for the very temporary reprieve.
My heart goes out to you.
If they are going to extend the deadline for anyone, they ought to extend it to everyone.
Evidently, NO — not if you live in Rhode Island (excepting only Bristol County), or certain designated counties of Massachussetts, which got particularly water-logged in the last deluge.
Everybody else better file and pay up on time: Thursday, April 15th. Meaning: Your tax filing must be postmarked April 15th if you are using United States Postal Service to deliver your return (and check, if you owe money).
You should know that IRS nowadays is strongly encouraging taxpayers to "e-file." I can appreciate the efficiency of this option. But it seems to me the "efficiency" works more to the benefit of the "gummint" than it does for taxpayers, the citizens of the United States.
Plus, even if your vendor (e.g., Intuit/Turbotax) tells you federal e-filing is completely "free of charge," it is only so at the federal level. At the e-commerce level, Intuit uses third parties to effect transactions between gummint and taxpayer that, in my case, resulted in something like a $100 transaction fee. So before you think e-filing is "free," read the fine print.
I thought so, too, from my first hearing of this. From the "rule of law" standpoint, this sort of thing does not quite measure up: It treats different citizens differently.
This is the IRS we're talking about.
HUH??? What photos? What on earth are you "gibbering" about? I am obviously missing something. Kindly fill me in on what it is.
Please do fill me in!!!
To be honest, I prefer e-filing because I never actually look at my return and I just answer the questions, fill out the forms and send it in. If there is ever a question about my return I have plausible deniability. Also I get my hard earned money back from these thieves a lot faster.
I’m sorry — I meant the news photos of the flooding on the East Coast. It just looked like a nightmare.
“Also I get my hard earned money back from these thieves a lot faster.”
If you are really nice, I will give you the name of my CPA. He is a firm believer in never letting the theives hold your money so that they have to return it. He plans for me to have to pay just enough so as not to have a penalty on April 15. K found him, naturally!
We already filed
How to stop the thieves?
The original Boston Tea Partiers sent a message that the crown didn’t like.
Who is today’s Crown?
Who are the complicit merchants who lost tea?
Who are the non-violent vandals?
What is a parallel vandalism?
Everyone has the right to request by April 15th and extension to file a return whether they have the money or not...the extension is good up to Oct. 15. Penalties accrue from April 15th on.
Last year receipts on April 15 were significantly reduced and a higher number of people postponed until Oct. 15th. Expect the experience to worsen this year and for the forseeable future.
Thankfully, I already have my refund and have already sent a chunk to missionaries etc.
Y’all didn’t buy/build on a hill?
Goodness!
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