New Filing Deadline for Georgia

On March 25 Georgia extended tax day to July 15 along with the IRS without penalties or interest. This includes the first quarter estimate payment for 2020 estimated tax that was due on April 15.

New Filing Deadline

Your federal tax return is now due on July 15. All federal tax payments due on April 15 such as balance due for 2019, quarter 1 estimate for 2020 taxes, and extension payments are now due on July 15. Federal interest and penalties start on July 16. However, Georgia and most states still have the April 15 deadline.

New Retirement Rules

The Secure Act was signed into law in December of 2019 and is effective for 2020. The new law makes two very good changes: the age limit of 70 1/2 for making regular IRA contributions is gone and the age for required minimum distributions has been increased from 70 1/2 to age 72. The old rules are still in effect for the 2019 tax return however.

Corrected Brokerage Statement 1099's

It is always fun to get a corrected 1099 after your tax return has been sent in. For 2019 the IRS is no longer requiring financial institutions to send amended 1099's if the change is  $100 or less in any box on the form. This should cut down on the number of amended 1099's considerably.

Health Insurance

The rules have changed for 2019 and after tax returns. There no longer is a penalty if you don't have qualified health care insurance. You can now get just catastrophic health care insurance at a fraction of the cost of Obamacare. Many taxpayers also seem to get caught on the Obamacare subsidy if they estimate their  income too low for the next year which results in having to give some or all of the subsidy back.