October 1 2020

COVID-19 Pandemic: Roundup of US State Accommodations

Source: IBFD Tax Research Platform News

The United States continue to make accommodations to their income tax regimes to provide taxpayers with COVID-19 relief for the 2019 tax year. Here is a quick roundup of recent developments:

Arkansas updated its COVID-19 related FAQs. The FAQs confirm that business grants and economic impact payments are not subject to state income tax, 2019 individual income tax filing extensions to 15 July 2020 and more.

New Jersey extended 2019 Corporate Business Tax (CBT) penalty relief for calendar year filers to 16 November 2020. Fiscal year filers similarly obtain a waiver of penalties by 30 days past their federal extension, e.g. fiscal filers with an extended federal due date of 16 November 2020 will have until 15 December 2020 to file their 2019 CBT returns with the state.

North Carolina passed Session Law 2020-97 (signed by the Governor on 4 September 2020) allocating federal funds in the Coronavirus Relief Act to support families with qualifying children with virtual schooling and childcare costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant is a total of USD 335 for each eligible individual, regardless of the number of qualifying children.

Oregon and Louisiana announced special mailing (see OR Press Release & LA Press Release) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) encouraging residents (mostly non-filers) to register for their federal Economic Impact Payment. Non-filers are typically not required to file federal income tax returns but may qualify for an Economic Impact Payment. The deadline for registering for an Economic Impact Payment for both taxpayers and non-filers is 15 October 2020.