September 2020 - Monthly Newsletter

Our monthly newsletter discusses this year's extended federal income tax return and FBAR filing deadlines.

Key Upcoming Federal Filing Due Dates for Individuals:

Expat taxpayers who filed a tax return extension by July 15th have until October 15th, 2020 to file their federal income tax return.

The FBAR filing deadline is the same as for the federal income tax return. However, taxpayers are granted an automatic extension to file the FBAR until October 15th, 2020.

Top 3 Tax FAQs

Question #1 – What is the official extended due date of this year’s federal income tax return and FBAR?

Answer – The official extended due date for this year’s tax return and FBAR is Thursday, October 15. While the due date is sometimes delayed by a day or two due to a holiday or weekend, this year’s date falls out on a weekday, so the regular deadline date of October 15 applies.

There has been no indication that this year's October 15 deadline will be extended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Question #2 – Can filing after the October 15 extended due date have adverse consequences even if I don’t owe tax?

Answer – Yes. While penalties for failure to file and/or failure pay taxes may not be imposed, other adverse consequences can be triggered by your delinquency. For instance, a number of important elections must be made by the due date of the tax return (including extensions) or they may be lost. Also, late filing penalties may be imposed with respect to international forms, such as the Form 3520 (ownership of trusts) or Form 5472 (ownership of a foreign corporation).

Question #3 – Is October 15 the very last date to file on time?

Answer – Not necessarily. In certain cases, a further extension may be granted by the IRS if, for good reason, October 15 does not provide sufficient time to file the tax return. Importantly, this extension applies only to the tax return, not the FBAR. An Expat Tax Professional should be consulted to further discuss this extension option.

This month's expat tax blogs.

• US TAX DEADLINES FOR EXPATS (Sep 17, 2020) – As we approach this year’s October 15 extended U.S. tax deadline, we thought it would be worthwhile to review the annual U.S. tax deadlines for expats and explain how we’ve arrived at October 15 as the next critical due date.
• AMERICAN TAX RATES FOR THE 2021 TAX YEAR (Sep 16, 2020) – This past week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the updated chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12-month period ending August 31. The CPI affects a number of tax items that are adjusted annually for inflation.
• REFUNDABLE TAX CREDITS (Sep 15, 2020) – Two of the more common refundable tax credits claimed by expats are the child tax credit and earned income credit.