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On April 13, 2020, the New Jersey State Senate and Assembly each passed the "COVID-19 Fiscal Mitigation Act" (S 2338), a key provision of which would extend the Gross Income Tax (GIT) and Corporation Business Tax (CBT) filing and payment deadlines to July 15, 2020, without interest or penalties. The bill now goes to Governor Phil Murphy, who is expected to sign it into law.

The July 15, 2020 filing and payment extension would apply to GIT and CBT returns and payments with original due dates of April 15, 2020, including corporate, individual, and partnership returns and quarterly payments with this due date. The extension would not apply to fiscal-year taxpayers; for example, the filing and payment deadline for a taxpayer with a January 31, 2020 year-end (with an original due date of May 15, 2020) remains May 15, 2020.

The bill would also extend the statute of limitations for the New Jersey Division of Taxation (NJ DOT) to assess GIT and CBT to 90 days after the conclusion of the New Jersey COVID-19 state of emergency. No corresponding change is made to the statute of limitations for refunds.

Under the bill, the NJ DOT would not be required to pay interest on overpayments for six months after the conclusion of the COVID-19 state of emergency. It is unclear whether the inclusion of this provision would cause the NJ DOT to reduce the number of refund claims processed during this special extension period.

Finally, the bill would extend the end of the state's fiscal year by three months from June 30, 2020 to September 30, 2020, and would require additional reporting by the State Treasurer and Governor. Additional spending for the three-month extension period must be enacted through general laws that amend or provide supplemental appropriations under the existing FY 2020 Appropriations Act (P.L. 2019, c.150). (This provision also mandates that the state's subsequent fiscal year will begin on October 1, 2020 and end on June 30, 2021.) Fiscal years for New Jersey municipalities tied to the state's fiscal year are not extended by the bill.

Implications

New Jersey taxpayers should be aware that the bill would only extend the filing and payment deadlines for GIT and CBT returns due April 15, 2020, and no other date for those taxes or, for that matter, any other New Jersey tax. The deadlines for paying and filing returns for any other New Jersey state or local tax, including sales and use tax, cigarette tax, hotel/motel occupancy fee, etc., will be unaffected by enactment of the bill and as such, must still be timely filed according to their original due dates (with any applicable extensions) absent any further legislation or official guidance.

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