The month of April is often seen as a hectic month in the personal finance world since it is normally when individual taxes are to be filed. As we know, the past year has been nothing short of hectic which has led to some changes from the IRS. During a news release on March 17th, the IRS announced that it was delaying the April 15 deadline for individuals until May 17, 2021. “This extension is absolutely necessary to give Americans some needed flexibility in a time of unprecedented crisis,” Richard Neal and Bill Pascrell said in a statement. “Under titanic stress and strain, American taxpayers and tax preparers must have more time to file tax returns. And the IRS itself started the filing season late, continues to be behind schedule, and now must implement changes from the American Rescue Plan.”
So, what does this mean? Under the notice, the postponement applies to anyone who files a federal individual income tax return on Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, 1040-PR, 1040-SS, or 1040(SP) (the Form 1040 series) or has a federal tax payment reported on one of these forms that would be due April 15, 2021. The notice also postpones the time until May 17 for affected taxpayers to make 2020 contributions to their individual retirement arrangements (IRAs and Roth IRAs), health savings accounts (HSAs) and other related accounts.
It is important to note that taxpayers do not have to file any extension form, such as Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. There will be no penalty or additional expenses for not filing these forms out, they will be automatically taken care of by the IRS.
Given the extra month, there is even more time to have your taxes situated from the previous year. This is excellent news, and hopefully relieves some stress from what was a very stressful 2020. Many students should file their federal and state tax returns to receive a refund of taxes previously withheld from their paychecks. If you need any assistance with preparing your tax returns, the K-State Research & Extension is operating the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site again this year. The tax preparation is free to eligible taxpayers and all tax preparers are certified for tax preparation by the IRS. There are three options for tax preparation by the VITA site:
- One-on-One Appointment: available Wed-Thurs from noon to 6 p.m. in the Collaboration Space at the Manhattan Public Library. To request an appointment for a One-on-One Appointment: Book your appointment online at www.riley.ksu.edu. If you need assistance is setting up this appointment, email vitataxes@gmail.com or call 785-565-6426.
- Drop Off Service with Review of Documents: available Tues-Thurs from noon to 6 p.m. in the Collaboration Space at the Manhattan Public Library. To request an appointment for Drop Office Service with Review of Documents: email vitataxes@gmail.com. If you do not have access to email, call 785-477-8877.
- No Contact Drop Off Service: available Mon-Fri from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Riley County Extension Office. To use the No Contact Drop Off Service: emailvitataxes@gmail.com to receive the documents necessary to allow us to work your tax return with your documents.
This program prepares IRS 1040 tax returns and corresponding state returns for qualifying low to moderate income taxpayers. They cannot prepare returns for international students. All taxpayers will be required to provide proof of identify as required by the IRS; this includes social security card or other social security documentation that includes the complete social security number or previous year tax return. Photo ID is also required. For assistance or questions email vitataxes@gmail.com or call 785-477-8877.
Chace Prothe
Peer Financial Counselor II
powercatfinancial@k-state.edu
