Congress introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at changing the estimated tax payment deadlines to a uniform, quarterly schedule.
Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Arizona, and Bradley Schneider, D-Illinois, introduced the Tax Deadline Simplification Act on Tuesday. The legislation would set the estimated tax installment deadlines to 15 days after the end of each quarter, moving the deadlines to Jan. 15, April 15, July 15, and Oct. 15. It would affect individual taxpayers, small businesses, estates, and trusts.
Estimated tax payments are made each quarter to the Internal Revenue Service by those whose income isn’t subject to tax withholding, but the current laws set the estimated tax payment deadlines at uneven intervals that don’t necessarily coincide with calendar year quarters, which can lead to confusion. This past year, when the IRS delayed the traditional tax filing deadline of April 15 until May 17, that led to difficulties for the taxpayers who still had to make a quarterly tax payment on April 15.
“Under current law, tax payment deadlines are set at uneven intervals, which can cause confusion and negatively affects gig economy and self-employed workers,” Lesko said in a statement Tuesday. “By changing these deadlines to occur on an even basis, this legislation will help our nation’s hardworking taxpayers better calculate their net income, save appropriately for their tax payments, and better comply with due dates.”
The tax deadlines would be easier to remember under the proposal. “American taxpayers need lawmakers to fight for them in Washington,” Schneider said in a statement. “For too long, the IRS has made paying taxes complicated and burdensome.”
The legislation is supported by the American Institute for CPAs, the Latino Tax Professionals Association, the National Society of Tax Professionals, Padgett Business Services, the National Conference of CPA Practitioners, the National Society of Accountants, the National Association of Tax Professionals and Optima Tax Relief.
The AICPA pointed out that it has worked over the last several months to secure relief for taxpayers who are subject to quarterly estimated tax payments, and that when the quarterly estimated payments deadline doesn’t align with a standard quarter, it can be confusing to the growing number of self-employed individuals and others, leading to unnecessary challenges for taxpayers to calculate and send timely payments.
“We appreciate and support Representatives Lesko and Schneider in their efforts to make it easier for taxpayers to meet their tax obligations,” said AICPA vice president of taxation Edward Karl in a statement Wednesday. “The current structure can be confusing and can easily result in unintended mistakes — changing the dates as proposed in this bill is a commonsense approach that will allow for the flow of more accurate information to taxpayers.”
