The delayed deadline to file a return this year has snuck up on tax filers. It was a nice break after the due date was changed from April, but here it is again. The IRS says get your returns by July 15th, or pay penalties if you owe.
Which leads to an unusual summer sight: The H&R Block office on Wells Avenue in Reno is decorated with balloons, signs and an influx of summer customers. Senior Tax Analyst Dena Wiberg tells me, “Julys are usually slow. We had a couple of people come in to get their taxes completed, but not anything like it is right now.”
July 15 is tax day, and the IRS isn't pushing it back any further. For the next 2 weeks Dena expects packs of procrastinators. You'd expect them to be those who put off writing the check, but there are plenty of refund filers too. Dena says the pandemic has made it 50-50: "Some people just waited because of the COVID. They just wanted to wait until everything was clear to go."
Also new: if you file an extension for October 15th, you still have to pay the interest to the IRS if you owe. But now the opposite is also true: the IRS will pay you interest if you're due a refund, calculated back to April 15th. “Because of the delays in people receiving their refunds, the IRS has agreed to pay interest on those refunds. We don't have an exact dollar amount, we don't know exactly what their percentage or anything is at this point, but that is something that the IRS just recently released."
Another change: as the sign on their door says, masks are required anytime you go inside an H&R Block. And as their other sign says, there are no more face to face appointments. The doors are only open for you to drop off your forms. They'll do them without you inside, and when your return is done it’s sent electronically to your home for you to review, approve and call with any questions. Otherwise, things are pretty much the same. Taxpayers have questions, and Dena faces another busy 2 weeks of last minute filers.
But one nice perk for her, and taxpayers: no waiting for missing forms. Most everyone should have them all by now, she says, "Unless they've misplaced them. Then they have to get new ones, which has happened a couple of times."
The IRS has a handy web page and app appropriately called, "Where's My Refund?" To check them out and track your refund, click the link below:
