The federal tax-filing deadline has moved to July 15, and the IRS will waive penalties and interest

Source: Business Insider

Very few aspects of American life, if any, remain unaffected by the coronavirus. Taxes are no exception.

On Friday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced on Twitter that the tax-filing deadline will move to July 15, the same day tax payments are due.

He wrote: "At @realDonaldTrump's direction, we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties."

On Tuesday, Mnuchin announced during a White House briefing that the IRS would waive interest and penalty charges for 90 days for Americans who owe up to $1 million in taxes. 

"If you owe a payment to the IRS, you can defer up to $1 million as an individual — and the reason we are doing $1 million is because that covers pass-throughs and small businesses — and $10 million for corporations, interest-free and penalty-free for 90 days. All you have to do is file your taxes," Mnuchin said in the White House briefing. The relief also extends to estimated quarterly tax payments for contractors and self-employed taxpayers.

"We encourage those Americans who can file later taxes to continue to file their taxes because you will get tax refunds and we don't want you to lose out. Many people do this electronically which is easy for them and the IRS," he said. 

Mnuchin said last week that he was working with the Trump administration to provide tax relief for "virtually all Americans other than the superrich."

The IRS is so far processing tax returns and paying out refunds with no apparent delay, though IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said employees who are eligible to work remotely should do so.

Some individual states, including California and Connecticut, have extended state tax return filing deadlines for residents. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is tracking updated state tax deadlines here.