Gov. Wolf Signs Law Amending Tax Deadlines Due To COVID Emergency

HARRISBURG, PA — Gov. Tom Wolf has signed into law a bill that extends the personal income tax filing deadline for local municipalities to May 17 this year — the same day state and federal income taxes are due.

The new law gives the state Department of Community and Economic Development temporary authority to deal with local taxation while the state's COVID-19 disaster declaration is in effect. That requires the department to coordinate with local governments to extend filing and payment deadlines so they coincide with the deadline for filing a state tax return.

Some local municipalities already have extended the deadline on their own.

The new law also extends the corporate tax filing deadline this year.

Under the bill, the corporate net income tax return filing deadline is changed from 30 days after the due date of the federal return to the 15th day of the month following the due date of the federal return for taxable years beginning this past January.

“This bill helps Pennsylvania businesses organize and simplify filing their federal and state taxes and empowers the departments of Revenue and Community and Economic Development to eliminate fines and penalties that may have accrued between differing deadlines for filing federal and state taxes," Wolf said in a news release upon announcing the new law.

According to the Wolf administration, the bill amends the Tax Reform Code of 1971 by adding a new section entitled “COVID-19 Emergency Finance and Tax provision.” That provision provides temporary authority to the departments of Revenue and Community and Economic Development to disregard the period after April 14, 2021 and before May 17, 2021 in the calculation of interest, penalties, or an addition to tax for failure to meet an extended filing deadline.

The bill, signed Thursday, went into effect immediately.