TIPS

Tax-saving moves you can still make before the July 15 deadline KEY POINTS

·The Covid-19 crisis led the federal government to extend the due date for submitting 2019 federal income tax return to July 15.

· Making contributions into certain tax-advantaged accounts before July 15 could translate into nice tax savings.

The Pandemic

Through May 22, the agency had processed 120 million returns, down 14 percent from the same point in 2019, when the filing deadline was April 15. The deadline was delayed by three months this year because of disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Nearly 90 percent of the 134 million returns filed so far were sent to the agency electronically, the report said. Filings were down 6.2 percent from 2019, but the average refund — nearly $2,900 — was similar to last year, the report said.

More than 10,000 IRS employees have been told to report to offices in Kentucky, Texas and Utah on Monday. They will focus on mail and return processing, taxpayer refund claims, depositing checks, income verification requests, customer service and telephone assistance, the report said.

Additional employees are expected to be recalled in coming weeks. More than half of the agency’s roughly 81,000 employees have been teleworking.

The report said the IRS “is taking a number of steps to ensure employee safety in our facilities, for example: enforcing social distancing; procuring 1.76 million disposable masks and 188,000 reusable masks; providing hand sanitizer at all facilities and limited quantities of disinfecting wipes (IRS is attempting to procure more); enhanced cleaning; and assessing the ability to modify HVAC operations to provide additional outside air and increase air exchange.”.

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Make IRA contributions

You can contribute up to $6,000 into an IRA (traditional or Roth) and add an extra $1,000 if you’re 50 or older. Depending on your income, you could get a tax deduction on the pretax money you put into a traditional IRA. Roth IRA contributions are made with after-tax dollars.

Contribute to a health savings account

Have a high-deductible health plan with a health savings account? You can stash up to $3,500 if you have individual coverage — or up to $7,000 for family plans. Throw in an extra $1,000 if you’re 55 and over. HSA contributions are also tax-deductible. In the past, you would have had to get these contributions in by April 15, the typical tax filing deadline. Now you have until the new due date. You’ll need to make 2019 IRA and HSA contributions by July 15.

Set up a payment plan if taxes owed

If you aren’t ready to file your taxes by July 15, you can file for an extension that will give you until Oct. 15 to submit your return. However, the extension to file is not an extension to pay any taxes you may owe. “The IRS understands that those affected by the coronavirus may not be able to pay their balances in full by July 15, but we have many payment options to help taxpayers,” IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said in a statement. “These easy-to-use payment options are available on IRS.gov, and most can be done automatically without reaching out to an IRS representative.”

To avoid paying significant penalties and interest, “you can set up a payment plan — direct debit or write a check every month,” said Christina Taylor of Credit Karma Tax. “For a lot of people, if they’re struggling to make day-to-day expenses, went through their savings. There’s a little-known program known as ‘offer in compromise.’ You send in a form offering a compromise on your tax debt.” Find out more at IRS.gov/payments.

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