U.S. Treasury Department Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced this morning that the 2019 income tax filing deadline will be moved to July 15, 2020 from April 15, 2020, because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Previously, the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS had announced that taxpayers could defer making income tax payments for 2019 and estimated income tax payments for 2020 due April 15 (up to certain amounts) until July 15, 2020. Now, the federal government is stating that you don't have to file a return by April 15.

It is not yet clear if ALL payments will now be deferred to July 15 as opposed to the $1 million limit for individuals announced earlier this week. Second quarter estimated payments normally due June 15 were also not included in the previous announcement and their status is still unknown.

Finally, while a few states have made announcements to move their state tax deadlines to July 15, Illinois has not yet issued any guidance.

This is a very fluid situation and we expect additional guidance from the IRS and the states to be issued soon. We will keep you posted as new developments occur. In the meantime, we will continue to work remotely to assist our clients through these difficult times.

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