PA Offering Relief For Taxpayers Affected By Coronavirus

PENNSYLVANIA — Gov. Tom Wolf Wednesday said the Department of Revenue is providing relief to Pennsylvanians and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic by offering taxpayers more flexibility, more time to meet their tax obligations, and a pause on several of its standard tax enforcement actions.

"As we all work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it’s critical for us to take action that will provide immediate relief for Pennsylvanians and our businesses," Wolf said. "In addition to extending tax filing and payment deadlines, we are giving taxpayers more time and flexibility in other areas so that they can concentrate on their well-being. This is a needed step that will help everyone during this uncertain time."

Taxpayers can take advantage of the relief through at least July 15.

More information on the relief is available online here.

"While people focus on their health and keeping themselves and their families safe during the pandemic, our goal is to ease the burden for our customers and help everyone move forward," Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell said. "We want to help people and businesses make it through this challenging situation."

As part of the relief Department of Revenue will:

• Pause payments for existing payment plans upon requests from taxpayers;
• provide flexible terms for new payment plans;
• work to boost customer service for taxpayers impacted by the pandemic;
• suspend or reduce automatic enforcement actions regarding liens, wage garnishments, bank attachments, license inspections, requirements for tax clearances and use of private collection agencies;
• suspend the creation of new desk reviews and field audits in most cases;
• suspend in-person meetings with taxpayers in most cases;
• broaden audit penalty abatement and interest relief;
• continue to administer tax credit and incentive programs;
• and abate penalties in most cases if taxpayers have remitted trust fund taxes they collected.

In addition to the relief announced today, the Department of Revenue also has:

• Extended the deadline to file state personal income tax returns by 90 days. The new deadline of July 15 is the same as the new federal deadline;
• extended the deadline to file informational returns related to Pennsylvania S corporations, partnerships, and estates and trusts to July 15;
• extended the due date for corporations with tax returns due in May to Aug. 14;
• removed the requirement for some businesses to make prepayments of Sales and Use Tax for April, May and June 2020. Many larger businesses are required to make prepayments under normal circumstances.

With the department’s call centers closed to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, taxpayers seeking assistance are encouraged to use the department’s Online Customer Service Center available here.

Through the online service center, taxpayers can submit questions to a department representatives. Representative will respond through a secure electronic process, similar to email.

Additionally, the center features numerous answers to common tax-related questions.

Taxpayers and tax professionals can visit the department's COVID-19 information page for more guidance and updates on department operations.