Tax and Wealth Advisor Alert: Wisconsin Follows Federal Extended Tax Due Dates

Wisconsin has updated its proposed guidance document discussing how various tax deadlines are affected by IRS Notices 2020-18 and 2020-23, which were issued as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we previously wrote, the IRS notices provide extensions for a variety of tax form filings and payment obligations that are due between April 1, 2020 and July 15, 2020, including estimated tax payments due June 15.

The proposed guidance document from Wisconsin states that federal extensions provided in the IRS notices may be used for Wisconsin income and franchise tax and for pass-through withholding tax purposes. For returns due on or after April 1, 2020 and before July 15, 2020, regardless of whether it is the original or extended due date, the due date is extended to July 15, 2020. See the helpful chart in the document for tax return due dates for 2019 Wisconsin tax returns.

In addition, any estimated income, franchise, or pass-through withholding tax payment that is due on or after April 1, 2020 and before July 15, 2020, is extended to July 15, 2020.

The document also notes that payments from the federal CARES Act (i.e. the federal economic impact payment or stimulus payment) are not taxable for federal or Wisconsin income tax purposes.

Lastly, like the IRS, Wisconsin will be postponing interest and penalties as a result of the extended due dates.  Unpaid income and franchise taxes and pass-through withholding taxes due on or after April 1, 2020 and before July 15, 2020 will not accrue interest or penalties until July 16, 2020.

If you are interested in learning more about the new tax filing guidance, please contact attorney Britany E. Morrison at O’Neil Cannon