WELCOME TO MICHELLE L. SOSNOWSKI CPA

This tax season is very unique and we are encouraging impacted individuals and businesses to extend 2020 tax returns until the “dust settles” vs. filing now and then requiring an amended tax return to be filed later this year. Please continue checking our website and we’ll try to keep you informed as we receive information from IRS and NCDOR.

WE HAVE EXTENDED ALL TAX RETURNS WITH 3-15-21 DEADLINES THAT HAVEN’T ALREADY BEEN FILED.

TAX ADVOCATE POINTS OUT IRS DELAYS IN PROCESSING TIMES
Excerpts NTA Blog: 2021 Filing Season Bumps in the Road: Part I

The National Tax Advocate (NTA) has pointed out IRS’s problems in processing tax returns this filing season and in communicating to taxpayers the status of their returns. Problems processing tax returns. The NTA notes that there have been larger-than-usual processing delays and attributes this situation to a combination of the high volume of 2020 tax returns requiring manual processing, the backlog of unprocessed 2019 paper tax returns, congressional mandates to issue economic impact payments (EIPs) and provide other relief to taxpayers during the pandemic, limited resources, and technology issues.

As of the week ending April 9, 2021, more than eight million individual returns (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) were in suspense status awaiting review and manual processing

In addition to the eight million returns of individuals in the IRS ERS unit, there were millions of other returns in other IRS units also awaiting manual processing:

• 5.3 million individual 2019 and 2020 paper returns;
• 4.7 million individual returns with processing errors or fraud identification issues requiring responses from taxpayers; and
• 11 million business and other returns.In total, IRS was holding over 29 million returns for manual processing.
  

3-30-21 – Please click here for a summary of The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 from Michelle

3-18-21 – The North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) announced today that it will extend the April 15 tax filing and payment deadline to May 17, 2021, for individual income tax to mirror the announced deadline change from the Internal Revenue Service.
“In order for taxpayers to have more time to navigate the tax changes during this pandemic, North Carolina will mirror the IRS change as much as possible under current state law,” said Secretary Ronald G. Penny. “The Governor and the legislative leadership have indicated their willingness to work with us to address issues that will need law changes.”

Penny, under his statutory authority, will automatically extend the time for filing North Carolina individual income tax to May 17, 2021. With the move to May 17, the NCDOR will not charge penalties for those filing and paying their taxes after April 15, 2021, as long as they file and pay their tax before May 17, 2021.

Unless state law is changed, tax payments received after April 15 will be charged interest, accruing from April 15 until the date of payment. The deadline extension only applies to individual income tax returns due April 15, 2021. It does not apply to trust taxes such as sales and use or withholding taxes or estimated tax payments due April 15, 2021.
The NCDOR will issue official notification and guidance in the near future.

3-17-21 – The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021. Individual taxpayers can also postpone federal income tax payments for the 2020 tax year due on April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021, without penalties and interest, regardless of the amount owed. This relief does not apply to estimated tax payments that are due on April 15, 2021. These payments are still due on April 15.

3-15-21 – The IRS announced that they are reviewing implementation plans for the newly enacted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Additional information about a new round of Economic Impact Payments, the expanded Child Tax Credit, including advance payments of the Child Tax Credit, and other tax provisions will be made available as soon as possible on IRS.gov. The IRS strongly urges taxpayers to not file amended returns related to the new legislative provisions or take other unnecessary steps at this time.

The IRS will provide taxpayers with additional guidance on those provisions that could affect their 2020 tax return, including the retroactive provision that makes the first $10,200 of 2020 unemployment benefits nontaxable. For those who haven’t filed yet, the IRS will provide a worksheet for paper filers and work with software industry to update current tax software so that taxpayers can determine how to report their unemployment income on their 2020 tax return. For those who received unemployment benefits last year and have already filed their 2020 tax return, the IRS emphasizes they should not file an amended return at this time, until the IRS issues additional guidance.

Our office will continue to update this site as new information is received from the IRS and NCDOR.