05 December 2018 IRS extends tax filing and deposit due dates in consideration of the George H.W. Bush national day of mourning Late on December 4, 2018, the IRS announced in IR-2018-242 that in consideration of the national day of mourning for George H.W. Bush on December 5, 2018, taxpayers have an extra day, until Thursday, December 6, 2018, to file any return or pay any tax originally due on Wednesday, December 5, 2018. This one-day extension applies to any return required to be filed with the IRS on Wednesday, December 5, 2018, and to any required federal tax payment originally due on that day. In addition, it also applies to any federal income, payroll or excise tax deposit due on December 5, 2018, including those required to be made through the Treasury Department's Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). As previously reported (EY Payroll Newsflash, Vol. 19, #195, 12-3-2018), absent this announcement, federal tax return and deposit due dates are not delayed by a national day of mourning. The extension granted for the George H.W. Bush national day of mourning is a departure from the IRS policy that applied to the national day of mourning for former Presidents Nixon (1994), Reagan (2004) and Ford (2006). Federal agencies will be closed Wednesday, December 5, 2018, as part of the national day of mourning for former president George H.W. Bush, the White House announced on December 1, 2018. In an executive order, President Trump said federal government offices will be closed December 5, 2018, as a mark of respect for George H. W. Bush. Although many federal agencies, including the US Postal Service, will be closed the Federal Reserve banks will remain open. (We understand that several commercial banks in different states are closing.) Because the Federal Reserve is not among the federal agencies closed on December 5, 2018, for the George H.W. Bush national day of mourning, federal return and tax payment due dates are not automatically extended, as they are with other federal holidays. This IRS announcement brings welcome relief to businesses that were unable to make their federal payroll tax deposits by the deadline of December 5, 2018, due to local bank closings. Had the automatic extension not been granted, these businesses would have had to request an abatement of the late deposit penalty.
Document ID: 2018-2410 | |||||||||
