Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin left the door open to extending the July 15 tax deadline for a second time to Sept. 15, as Americans and businesses continue to grapple with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
“As of now, we’re not intending on doing that, but it is something that we may consider,” Mnuchin said in an interview at the Bloomberg Invest Global 2020 virtual summit. “I would encourage all Americans, if you can file, go ahead and do it, particularly if you think you have a refund.”
The U.S. Treasury already pushed back the traditional April 15 deadline for federal 2019 income tax returns to mid-July, giving Americans three months longer to file their taxes. States, however, may have different deadlines.
So far, many Americans have already completed their income tax returns. But there are still some who haven’t filed yet. The IRS has received 136.5 million individual income tax returns as of June 12, down from more than 144 million received last year.
Americans can still request an extension, which would give them until Oct. 15 to submit returns. But filers would still need to pay any taxes owed by July 15.
