IRS reminder: June 15 tax deadline postponed to July 15 for taxpayers who live and work abroad

IRS reminder: June 15 tax deadline postponed to July 15 for taxpayers who live and work abroad

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today reminded people who live and work abroad that they have until Wednesday, July 15, 2020, to file their 2019 federal income tax return and pay any tax due. The usual deadline is June 15.

This extension was included in a wide range of Coronavirus-related relief announced in early April. The extension generally applies to all taxpayers who have an income tax filing or payment deadline falling on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020.

This means that anyone, including Americans who live and work abroad, nonresident aliens and foreign entities with a U.S. filing and payment requirement, have until July 15 to file their 2019 federal income tax return and pay any tax due.  Visit IRS.gov/Coronavirus for details.

Need more time beyond July 15?
Individual taxpayers who need additional time to file beyond the July 15 deadline can request a filing extension to Oct. 15 in one of two ways:

Filing Form 4868 through their tax professional, tax software or using the Free File link on IRS.gov.
Submitting an electronic payment with Direct Pay, Electronic Federal Tax Payment System or by debit, credit card or digital wallet options and selecting Form 4868 or extension as the payment type. The automatic extension of time to file will process when taxpayers pay all or part of their taxes, electronically, by the July 15 due date. An extension to file is not an extension to pay. Taxes are still due by July 15.

Businesses that need additional time to file income tax returns must file Form 7004, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns.

Combat zone extension
Members of the military qualify for an additional extension of at least 180 days to file and pay taxes if either of the following situations apply:

They serve in a combat zone or they have qualifying service outside of a combat zone or
They serve on deployment outside the United States away from their permanent duty station while participating in a contingency operation. This is a military operation that is designated by the Secretary of Defense or results in calling members of the uniformed services to active duty (or retains them on active duty) during a war or a national emergency declared by the President or Congress.

Deadlines are also extended for individuals serving in a combat zone or a contingency operation in support of the Armed Forces. This applies to Red Cross personnel, accredited correspondents, and civilian personnel acting under the direction of the Armed Forces in support of those forces.

Spouses of individuals who served in a combat zone or contingency operation are generally entitled to the same deadline extensions with some exceptions.

Extension details and more military tax information is available in IRS Publication 3, Armed Forces’ Tax Guide

IRS.gov assistance 24/7
Tax help is available 24/7 on IRS.gov. The IRS website offers a variety of online tools to help taxpayers answer common tax questions. For example, taxpayers can search the Interactive Tax Assistant, Tax Topics, Frequently Asked Questions, and Tax Trails to get answers to common questions. Go to IRS.gov/payments for electronic payment options.