Income tax filing deadline moved to July 15 from April 15

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, center, speaks with members of the media as he departs a meeting with Senate Republicans on an economic lifeline for Americans affected by the coronavirus outbreak. on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the Trump administration has decided to push the income tax filing date to July 15 from April 15.

Mnuchin announced the decision in a tweet Friday saying that at President Donald Trump’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.”

The administration had announced earlier in the week that it would delay the payments, a move that Mnuchin said would leave $300 billion in the economy at a critical time.

In North Carolina, Department of Revenue Secretary Ronald Penny announced on Thursday that the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) will not impose the late payment penalty for income tax due on April 15, 2020 if the tax is paid by July 15, 2020. It is unknown at this time if the state filing deadline will also move to July 15. 

Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) on Friday urged NCDOR to provide residents with additional flexibility by delaying filing deadlines for sales, payroll, unemployment insurance, and income tax filings.

Moore said suspending penalties for tax payments, licenses, and permits, were key first steps, but the state must provide further economic relief to North Carolinians increasingly affected by the crisis.

“For the average North Carolinian right now, trying to complete your tax filing before April 15 to avoid a penalty is just as unreasonable as having to pay it,” Moore said.

“I have spoken with the Governor and told him we must suspend the filing deadlines as well as the penalties, and if legislation is necessary to authorize that beforehand or authorize it retroactively, I will support that.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.