Some of you have reached out to discuss the status of your tax returns. We felt it best to send a not to update you on the happenings within the wonderful world of tax. 2020 continues to be one for the record books, and it looks like it wants to hold onto the title well into 2021. There have been over 2,500 pages of new tax law in the last year. Within the last month both the IRS and Maryland have passed new tax laws that impacted 2020 returns; retroactive changes!!
Maryland passed the RELIEF ACT on February 15, 2021.
Many of these changes involve new tax forms that are not even created yet and they estimate it will be 4-6 weeks before they are available.
Last week Maryland announced that they have extended the tax filing AND payment deadline to July 15, 2021.
This is identical to last year. As a result, no extension is required and no tax payments are required until July 15th.
Congress passed and President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan on March 11, 2021.
The IRS began direct depositing or mailing out checks this week for the approved $1,400 per person stimulus payment.
We are still waiting for guidance from IRS on how to handle some of the laws passed in this bill.
We have heard that the IRS is receiving pressure from Congress to extend the filing deadline as they did last year. On 3/17 the IRS extended the deadline to 5/17/2021.
2021 Q1 Estimated Taxes were not extended. They are due 4/15.
We are taking the necessary steps to ensure any tax returns we have completed to date are reviewed again with these changes in mind. We will always work hard to ensure your tax situation is optimized. It is important to everyone that we get this right!
Even if there is no impact to the calculation of your tax, there is a chance the forms used to prepare your return are not finalized and approved by the state or IRS. You can see how these issues will complicate the tax season. We appreciate your understanding and patience on this front.
Our goal is to be a trusted partner on your financial path. You all are amazing, and we cannot emphasize enough how much we value your trust in us. We look forward to helping you navigate this tax season so we can all put 2020 behind us.
Please do not take this note as a request to delay starting the tax preparation process.
Send us your documents as soon as you are ready and able! We would love to start the preparation while we wait for the taxing authorities to clean up their systems.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions. We look forward to talking with you again soon.
-Your Fidelis Tax and Accounting Team