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News broke yesterday evening that the Treasury Department was seriously considering pushing back the April 15 filing deadline because of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.—something which #taxtwitter had been discussing the possibility of earlier this week. And within the last couple of hours, the Wall Street Journal and the USA Today reported that it’s even more likely now that the April 15 filing deadline will be delayed.
Before this legitimately became a thing, tax professionals’ reactions earlier this week ranged from “Hell no,” to “it won’t happen—there’s already an Oct. 15 extension deadline for individuals,” to “there’s precedent—filing deadlines for taxpayers are often extended by the IRS in areas impacted by natural disasters.”
So, I scanned #taxtwitter this morning to see how our friends in tax were reacting to the April 15 deadline possibly being delayed. To no one’s surprise, many were against it:
https://twitter.com/taxchic_k/status/1237730250626301957
When you get to work and read they are talking about extending the tax deadline and everyone thinks "Bet you're happy about that!" and all I am thinking is "Please. No." #TaxTwitter
— Don Klynsma (@dklynsma) March 11, 2020
selfishly, a continuation of #TaxSeason is oh, so painful to contemplate… #WorkNeverEnds https://t.co/PtOys4JzNZ
— Melinda Nelson CPA (@MelindaNCPA) March 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/ChrisJulienCPA/status/1237751484818718720
I don't think it would provide any real advantage. If the IRS falls behind because the DC (and other) offices must work from home, that doesn't impact the submission and payment of taxes, just processing times. If clients need more time, that's literally what an extension is for.
— Brad Garland, ᴄᴘᴀ 🇺🇲🇰🇷🇨🇺 (@TaxPoetic) March 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/Momma_K527/status/1237761928329596928
I generally think it's a bad idea to extend the deadline universally. Even people who are contained or quarantined can still get documents to their #TaxPros. Sure, there should be exceptions to rules, but the IRS makes exceptions all the time.
— Adam Markowitz (@adammarkowitzEA) March 11, 2020
Some were on the fence about it:
This tax season has been tough already as we went through a system-wide outage with @DrakeSoftware which cost us a few days, also transitioned to work remotely, so the extra time is welcome but also means tax season is extended which is hard on our loved ones and our own health.
— Shay (@ShayCPA) March 11, 2020
Good, with misgivings. The big question is #IRS relief for payments due on 4/15. How will that be framed & implemented? And also, a major issue is how the states will respond. Many taxpayers file in multiple states. It could be interesting.
— Phyllis Jo Kubey (@PKubeyEA) March 11, 2020
And others don’t mind the deadline being pushed back:
Good. https://t.co/2ukqtv7YkR
— Joe Kristan (@joebwan) March 11, 2020
I actually think it's a good idea, although I'll keep working as if it's not extended. It will take pressure off the people in "hot" zones so they can focus on theirs and their family's health.
— Brian Streig, CPA (@cbriancpa) March 11, 2020
Even if extended, our firm is sticking with 4/15. Of course we do many extensions anyways but if things get worse or there's a one off issue, reasonable cause or FTA is always available for penalty relief if a payment can't be made.
— Jeff Kristoff (@jckristoff) March 11, 2020
But will the March 16 filing deadline for S corporations and partnership tax returns be delayed? Don’t count on it, said our friend Tony Nitti:
Well, I’d say it’s 50/50. But there’s only a 10% chance of that.
— Tony Nitti (@nittiaj) March 10, 2020
Here are some other busy season problems our friends in the tax world have dealt with recently:
Can't make this up! #TaxTwitter S-Corp client marks on the organizer that he sold equip for $1K. I can't find it in QBO. E-mail the client. Days later from office mgr: "[Owner] thinks that the money [cash, not a check] is at his house somewhere." #TaxSeason #TaxLife #smh
— Karl Strube, CPA (@KJSAcct) March 11, 2020
Broke out scrap paper and created T-accounts to figure out a disastrous inter-companies (self-rental) loan this morning… so that's how my Monday's going… why can't clients ever keep it simple (or follow directions for that matter) 😫 #TaxTwitter
— Samantha Freeman, EA (@SFreemanEA) March 9, 2020
Did you know that to be a CPA, you must have psychic powers? Your clients will expect you to know about their deductions that they didn't tell you about. #TaxTwitter #TaxSeason
— Ben Zachary (@BZachCPA) March 6, 2020
"Glucose is virtually the sole fuel for the human brain."
So I ate cold Pop-Tarts this afternoon, because #taxseason
— Joshua Jordan (@cxpurposes) March 11, 2020
I called the @IRSnews practitioner priority line. The person mumbled his name and ID. I asked him to repeat it and he *hung up on me*. Gee, thanks!
— Matt Foreman (@ForemanTaxLaw) March 9, 2020
But fortunately for #taxtwitter (and us), tax pros haven’t lost their sense of humor, even though they may have lost their sanity:
It happened. This tax season has caused me to lose my damn mind. Stick a fork in me…I'm done. #taxtwitter #taxseason #taxcasualty pic.twitter.com/HTSISOz719
— Cam Matheny (@CamMatheny) March 10, 2020
Did You Know? Tax Preparers go into self-quarantine every year from January to May. It's called, Tax Season. pic.twitter.com/QwzSIaw6hH
— Tax TeleGraf (@LoganGrafTax) March 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/taxchic_k/status/1237062158397181952
Client: "ummm…there's something by your nose"
Me: "it's a booger"
Client: 😕
Me: "I'm not touching my face. Continue, you were saying you wanted to convert some of your IRA to Roth in 2020…"
— Andrea Carr CPA (@andreacpa0) March 9, 2020
At this point in busy season, and with COVID-19 now officially a pandemic, if y’all weren’t laughing, you’d probably be crying.
