04.13.21

Cantwell, Toomey, Daines, Cardin Call on IRS to Delay Estimated Tax Payment Deadline to Help Self-Employed Americans, Small Business Owners

Without change, self-employed, gig economy workers, small business owners would still be required to pay first quarter estimated tax payments by April 15

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the traditional tax filing season approaches, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calling on them to move the first quarter estimated tax payment deadline from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021. The move would bring the first quarter estimated tax payment deadline in line with the delayed individual tax return deadline the IRS announced in March. Without the change, millions of self-employed Americans and small business owners would still be forced to pay their first quarter estimated tax payments by the end of this week.

“For tax year 2020, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) automatically extended the filing and payment deadline for individual income tax returns from April 15, 2021 to May 17, 2021. However, this decision does not benefit all individual taxpayers. Specifically, self-employed individuals and those with pass-through income, many of whom are small business owners, are still required to file first quarter estimated tax payments on April 15, 2021,” the senators wrote to IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig.

“In its decision to extend the individual filing and payment deadline, the IRS acknowledged the 2021 tax filing season’s unusual circumstances. We appreciate this postponement. However, not including first quarter estimated payments in the deadline extension is a mistake. To calculate quarterly estimated tax payments, taxpayers and practitioners utilize prior year tax return calculations. Therefore, the differing deadlines create an unnecessary burden for those required to make estimated tax payments.”

“Individuals and small businesses have faced unprecedented economic challenges this past year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It simply does not make sense to add additional stress to these taxpayers and make their tax planning more difficult.”

The full text of the letter can be found HERE.

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