IRS extends more tax deadlines until May 17

The Internal Revenue Service responded Tuesday to calls for extending more tax deadlines by giving taxpayers until May 17 to make IRA and HSA contributions and file some refund claims.

The IRS issued the announcement as a follow-up to the news earlier this month that it is extending the April 15 tax-filing deadline until May 17. The IRS also issued Notice 2021-21, which offers more details on the other tax deadlines which have been postponed until May 17.

The IRS has faced pressure from accounting groups like the American Institute of CPAs, the National Conference of CPA Practitioners and the National Association of Enrolled Agents to push back more of the tax deadlines during the pandemic, particularly for making estimated quarterly tax payments. However, one senator suggested during a congressional hearing last week that it may be up to Congress to give the IRS the statutory authority to do that, as it did during last year’s tax season in the early days of the pandemic when Congress delayed the deadline until July 15.