Clarification: Per CNBC. The Treasury is giving taxpayers a 90-day extension on paying taxes owed from 2019, but Americans are still required to file their 2019 income tax return by April 15, Mnuchin told the network Wednesday morning.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday that, due to the impact of the coronavirus on businesses and markets, taxpayers will get a 90-day extension in order to pay the income taxes owed for 2019.
“We previously talked about deferring IRS payments,” Mnuchin said at a press conference with President Trump at his side. “The president earlier this morning authorized me to announce this program.”
However, to be “clear on the specifics,” he encouraged those Americans who can file their taxes to continue to do so on April 15, because many will get tax refunds.
“We don’t want you to miss out on them,” the secretary added. “Many people [file] electronically, which is easy for them and easy for the IRS.”
If money is owed by the taxpayer to the IRS, up to $1 million can be deferred for an individual. The $1million dollar limit was deliberate, as it covers many pass-throughs in small businesses. For corporations, the limit is $10 million, interest and penalty-free, for three months.
“The president has asked us to go up to $300 billion, which is an enormous amount of liquidity in the system,” Mnuchin said.
Economic stimulus plan
The Treasury Secretary also commented on the economic stimulus package the administration is preparing.
The package will “quickly balloon into trillion-dollar territory in the coming days, the largest rescue in modern American history, as major industries flood the Trump administration and Capitol Hill for aid while huge swaths of the economy stall from the coronavirus crisis,” Politico reported Tuesday.
The White House was pushing for a package of more than $800 billion, according to the media outlet, and the Treasury Department was preparing to unveil a package of $850 billion including more than $50 billion for the airline industry, $250 billion for small-business support and $500 billion for a payroll tax holiday.
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With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
