In Notice 2020-18, 2020-15 I.R.B. 590 (4/6/2020), the Internal Revenue Service has announced that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, income tax returns and payments that are now due on April 15 can be deferred until July 15 without any penalties or interest. The deferral of income tax payments applies to both tax payments for 2019 and estimated tax payments for 2020.
This notice supersedes Notice 2020-17, which provided for a deferral of income tax payments but not a deferral of the filing of income tax returns.
Interest and penalties may apply after July 15, but the period from April 15 to July 15 will be excluded from any interest or penalty calculations. And, unlike Notice 2020-17, there is no dollar limitation on the amount of tax that may be deferred.
Unlike Notice 2020-17, this notice explicitly applies to estates and trusts as well as individuals and corporations.
According to Notice 2020-18, the relief is limited to income tax returns and payments due on April 15, and does not apply to any other tax payment or type of return.
There is (as yet) no similar relief for Pennsylvania income tax filings or payments. There is a web page for current Department of Revenue alert details for coronavirus information. (Note: This changed on 3/21/2020.)
[3/24/2020 Update: The Internal Revenue Service has published a FAQ (“Filing and Payment Deadlines Questions and Answers“) with additional information about the application of Notice 2020-18.]
The Pa. Department of Revenue recently posted the following on its website:
“Due to the recent closing of commonwealth and county office buildings to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Department of Revenue is aware that taxpayers have been unable to meet their Inheritance Tax filing and payment obligations. To address these concerns, the department is asking County Register of Wills offices to implement the following procedures when their operations resume:
“* If a taxpayer is filing a return or making a payment and indicates that either was due during the timeframe that offices were closed, please place a date received as of March 12, 2020, on the return and the receipt.
“* In addition, the department is making system modifications to not apply penalties for payments received late, that otherwise would have been timely during office closures.”
Note: Notice 2020-17 was superseded by Notice 2020-18.
In Notice 2020-17, the Internal Revenue Service has announced that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, income tax payments that are now due on April 15 can be deferred until July 15 without any interest or penalties. This applies to both tax payments for 2019 and estimated tax payments for 2020, but the deferral is limited to $1 million for individuals and $10 million for corporations.
There is (as yet) no deferral of the filing deadline, so taxpayers must either file returns by April 15 or file for an extension of time to file.
Interest and penalties may apply after July 15, but the period from April 15 to July 15 will be excluded from any interest or penalty calculations.
It is believed that this relief applies to estates and trusts as well as individuals and corporations.
There is (as yet) no similar relief for Pennsylvania income tax filings or payments.
The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania now has a web page with links to both state and county orders resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Philadelphia courts (and related offices) will be closed until at least April 1.
- President Judge Administrative Order No. 10-2020 In re: EMERGENCY JUDICIAL ORDER.
- President Judge Administrative Order No. 8-2020 In re: Stay of the Execution of Alias Writs of Possession.
- President Judge Administrative Order No. 7-2020 In re: Stay of Issuance of Residential Writs of Possession and Stay of Execution of Issued Residential Writs of Possession.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delaware County has entered an order declaring a judicial emergency, as a result of which the courthouse (and government center where the Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans’ Court is located) will be closed to the public until at least March 30th.
Executor named in will was unfit to serve because he as admittedly insolvent, had been convicted of financial crimes, and had been abusing his powers as agent during his parents’ lifetimes, for which he was later convicted of criminal offenses. Son who was not a beneficiary had no standing to file objections to the account of the administrator c.t.a., and son who was a beneficiary could not join in those objections. Davis Estate, 10 Fid.Rep.3d (Chester O.C. 2019).
Although the two children of the decedent had different claims about their mother’s wishes for the disposition of her cremated remains, they both testified that she wished her ashes to be disposed of along with the ashes of her deceased husband, and so the court directed that the ashes of the decedent be disposed of with the ashes of her husband, which had not yet been determined. J.A.K. v. S.H., 10 Fid.Rep.3d 59 (Lycoming O.C. 2020).
Although there was evidence of cohabitation and a reputation as husband and wife, there was no evidence of joint income tax returns and no testimony by the alleged surviving wife, and there was evidence that the parties had not married and that they had attempted to obtain a marriage license before the death of the decedent, so the evidence was not clear and convincing and the marriage was not established. Fitz Estate, 10 Fid.Rep.3d 51 (York O.C. 2019), aff’d 337 MDA 2019 (Super. Ct. 1/14/2020), appeal den., 62 MAL 2020 (7/15/2020).
The following is a 3/16/2020 news release from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court:
Amid COVID-19 mitigation efforts, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court today declared a statewide judicial emergency effective until April 14, 2020.
With the emergency declaration in place, county president judges are authorized to declare individual county judicial emergencies through April 14, 2020, should they deem it appropriate to protect the health and safety of staff, court users and the community.
Specifically, counties operating under local judicial emergencies shall have the authority to:
- Suspend time calculations for the purposes of time computation relevant to court cases or other judicial business, as well as time deadlines, subject to constitutional restrictions;
- Authorize additional uses of advanced communications technology to conduct court proceedings, subject to constitutional restrictions; and
- Take any action permitted pursuant to Rule of Judicial Administration 1952(B)(2), including restrictions or temporary closures of court facilities.
The emergency declaration specifically authorizes president judges to suspend the operation of Rule of Criminal Procedure 600 within a judicial district, for the length of the judicial emergency. The Supreme Court Order, however, does not affect a criminal defendant’s right to a speedy trial under the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions.
Judicial Districts operating under the emergency declaration will arrange for the provision of essential judicial services, including arraignments and bail establishment hearings and protection from abuse act proceedings.
Additional information about the impact of COVID-19 on court operations is available online, at @pennsylvaniacourts and @PACourts.
Update: The following are the citations and links to the orders published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin:
“General Statewide Judicial Emergency; No. 531 Judicial Administration Doc.” (3/16/2020), 50 Pa.B. 1832 (3/28/2020).
“General Statewide Judicial Emergency Authorization for Superior Court and Commonwealth Court; No. 532 Judicial Administration Doc.” (3/16/2020), 50 Pa.B. 1831 (3/28/2020).
“General Statewide Judicial Emergency; No. 531 and 532 Judicial Administration Doc.” (3/18/2020), 50 Pa.B. 1833 (3/28/2020).