Maryland Offers Tax Filing and Payment Extensions for Select Businesses
Due to the ongoing state of emergency related to COVID-19, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot announced on Wednesday, January 6th, that his agency would provide temporary tax relief to select businesses and self-employed individuals in Maryland. Tax filing and payment deadlines, as well as quarterly estimated income tax returns and payment that would be due in January, February and March 2021 have now been extended to April 15, 2021.
This action is similar to the extension granted until July 15, 2020 during the early months of the COVID-19 crisis. The Comptroller also made it clear that no interest or penalties will be assessed and there is no need to file a request for the extension. He also added that this extension only pertains to taxes administered by the Comptroller’s Office and does not include Personal Property Tax or Unemployment Insurance.
Important items to note:
- Corporate and Pass-through Entity Tax Filings and Payments. Since calendar year Corporations and S Corp filers were required to make their fourth quarter payment by December 15th, they would not be affected by this extension. The extension would only apply to fiscal year filers in the above category.
- Sales & Use Tax. The Comptroller’s Office asks that businesses do not combine separate reporting periods into one single return due to the administrative burden of separating out payments being applied to different periods. This mean the February 20thpayment and the March 20th payment would both be due April 15th – but the two payments should be sent with the correct period noted.
- Employer Withholding. Any payment due with the 2020 year-end withholding reconciliation on or before January 31stwould not be included in this extension.
Each situation is unique. As such, we strongly encourage you to talk to your accountant and financial advisor to decide what’s right for you. We will continue to update this article with new information as it becomes available.
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