January 21, 2022 Last week Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot announced extended filing and payment deadlines for Maryland individual income tax returns and payments. The filing deadline is now July 15th. Maryland taxpayers do not need to file an extension as it is automatically granted. The extension does not apply to business income tax filing and payment deadlines. In addition, the extension does not apply to 2022 estimated tax payments. Why Did This Occur? Comptroller Franchot’s decision to extend the filing and payment deadlines reflects the pandemic’s continued impact on Maryland individuals and families. This is the third consecutive year that Comptroller Franchot has extended filing and payment deadlines to July 15. Those extensions have benefitted roughly 600,000 taxpayers each of the past two years, enabling them to hold on to a combined $1.8 billion as an interest-free loan, which may have allowed them to take care of more pressing issues like paying rent or keeping their businesses open. The Internal Revenue Service, which already has warned of processing delays for the 2022 tax season due to COVID, has not indicated any plans to extend the federal income tax filing and payment deadline beyond April 18. As of late December, the IRS had backlogs of 6 million unprocessed original individual returns (Forms 1040), 2.3 million unprocessed amended individual returns (Forms 1040-X), more than 2 million unprocessed employer’s quarterly tax returns (Forms 941 and 941-X), and about 5 million pieces of taxpayer correspondence – with some of these submissions dating back at least to April and many taxpayers still waiting for their refunds nine months later. Taxpayers are encouraged to file their returns electronically and use direct deposit for the fastest possible processing and to ensure they receive all possible refunds and to avoid continued delays with the United States Postal Service. How Can KatzAbosch Help? If you have questions about how the extension will impact your filings and payments please contact your KatzAbosch representation or contact us.
