IRS pushes tax filing deadline by one month

The tax season was scheduled to end April 15.

As of last week, the agency had processed 25 percent fewer returns than the year prior, prompting Democrats to call for an extension, according to NBC News. A May 15 deadline has been mentioned, but since that falls on a Saturday, May 17 (a Monday) seems more likely.

This will give taxpayers additional time to file their 2020 tax returns and pay any amounts owed to the IRS.

The IRS may have chose to heed the pleas of lawmakers and advocacy groups who have been urging the tax agency to postpone this year's April 15 filing deadline. Millions of Americans still have not received stimulus checks under prior coronavirus aid packages, even as the tax agency began doling out payments Wednesday under the $1.9 trillion stimulus signed into law earlier this month.

The IRS and Treasury did not immediately respond to requests to comment on the delay.

The IRS this year began accepting 2020 returns as late as February 12 instead of its customary January start date, NBC News.

The IRS is planning to delay the deadline by one month, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the decision. The House Ways and Means Committee has noted that, compared to 2020, "27% fewer tax returns have been filed already and 31% fewer returns have been processed by the IRS".

The deadline a year ago to file 2019 taxes was extended to July 15, as the coronavirus pandemic exploded in many states.