IRS To Delay Tax Filing Deadline Until May 17

The IRS is planning to delay its customary April 15 tax filing deadline until May 17, a congressional source told CBS News' Nancy Cordes. 

Accountants had asked the tax agency to push back the deadline given the ongoing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic for taxpayers and the IRS, which is still dealing with a backlog of tax returns from last year. The delay in the tax deadline was first reported by Bloomberg News.

The IRS didn't immediately return a request for comment.

The American Institute of CPAs this week had urged the IRS to delay the filing deadline, citing the impact of the pandemic on U.S. taxpayers as well as the tax agency itself, which is still trying to dig out of a backlog of returns from the last tax filing season. Lawmakers on Wednesday applauded the tax agency for delaying the deadline, saying it is "absolutely necessary."

"This extension is absolutely necessary to give Americans some needed flexibility in a time of unprecedented crisis," said Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr., a Democrat from New Jersey and chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, and Richard Neal, a Democrat from Massachusetts. "Under titanic stress and strain, American taxpayers and tax preparers must have more time to file tax returns."

The lawmakers and AICPA had also pointed out that the IRS continues to struggle with processing paper returns. Last year, the IRS shifted to remote work due to the pandemic, which caused them to file paper tax returns in trailers until they could get to them. That's led to a backlog of millions of returns. 

"Even the IRS — faced with a significant mail processing backlog, a delayed start of the 2021 tax season, inundated phone lines and a new round of COVID-19 relief payments — is overwhelmed," the AICPA said. 

You can read the IRS statement here.

—This is a developing story and will be updated.

First published on March 17, 2021 / 3:17 PM

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