On September 9, 2019, the New Jersey Division of Taxation (DOT) released a statement on its website announcing an automatic waiver of the late filing penalty for filers of the 2018 New Jersey Corporation Business Tax Return. If a return filer has properly extended its filing requirement to the October 15, 2019 due date, the DOT will automatically waive any late filing penalty¹ that would be due if the return is filed by November 15, 2019. Fiscal-year filers are also given an additional month to file.

The DOT statement reads as follows:

The extended filing date for the 2018 New Jersey Corporation Business Tax Return on October 15, 2019, is the same due date as the federal return. We will automatically waive the late filing penalty for … corporation business taxpayers with a properly extended federal return due date of October 15, 2019, if the return is filed by November 15, 2019 for extended calendar year corporations (or filed within an additional month of the extended due date for 2018 returns for [fiscal-year] corporations).

We will consider elections made timely, if the elections are made on a 2018 New Jersey Corporation Business Tax Return filed by November 15 (or within an additional month for an extended 2018 return for a [fiscal-year] corporation). Interest and penalties for late payment of the tax may still apply. Failure to file by the November 15, 2019, date may result in the imposition of a late filing penalty based on the October 15, 2019, due date.²

Implications

The latest DOT guidance allows for an additional 30-days to file a 2018 NJ CBT-100 return as long as a proper extension has been filed. This will prevent the late filing penalty from being assessed from October 15, 2019 to November 15, 2019 for eligible filers. However, additional interest and penalties for late payment will continue to accrue during this period.

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ENDNOTES

¹ See N.J.S.A. 54:49-4 for more information related to late filing and late payment penalties.

² N.J. Div. of Tax., 30-Day Penalty Relief for Corporations (Sept. 9, 2019) (available on the internet here (last accessed Sept. 10, 2019.))