Wishing it away. Unfortunately the 3-mo delayed Tax Day is today

Posted By on July 15, 2020

FishExpired_aniThe pandemic delayed April 15th Tax Day for Americans’ 2019 taxes is now upon us and for those who have not filed, you have until 11:59 tonight to do it … unless you request an extension until October 15th. We can try to wish it away like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, but as the idiom goes,nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

DorthyClickingHeels_ani

For most of us who owe Uncle Sam money, having a few months more to pay just allows us to remain frustrated; it is both a blessing and a curse. I appreciated the reprieve, but that just meant the inevitable was coming. Thankfully in our case, the under-withholding penalty part isn’t going to break the bank. As I say every year, “next year I’ll be early and get the withholding right.”

By shifting the deadline, the federal government allowed individuals and businesses to hold onto their cash longer as they dealt with the fallout from the virus outbreak. The three-month delay injected about $300 billion of liquidity into the economy, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Taxpayers must file or seek an extension by today — or face a financial penalty.

As of June 26, the IRS had processed about 128.5 million returns, down 10.6 percent from last year. By comparison, it had received about 140 million returns, a drop of just 3.5 percent from the same time last year. The agency has issued roughly 93 million refunds so far, down 10.3 percent from this point in 2019.

If you haven’t filed yet, here’s what you need to know: MORE

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Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
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