As the U.S. government moves quickly to respond to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, there is some relief for taxpayers. On Friday, March 20, 2020, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced an extension of the 2019 tax filing deadline, shifting the normal April 15 deadline to a July 15, 2020 deadline. 

The change affords taxpayers a slight reprieve and provides an added benefit to investors contributing to Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs, as the contribution deadline is automatically pushed back to coincide with the filing deadline. Regarded as an atypical move in response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis, the change presents real benefit to IRA account holders. Most notably, they have additional time to contribute to their IRA and save toward retirement. 

While the change offers additional leverage to put retirement dollars to work, it could also introduce administrative challenges, as institutions employ standard procedures with assigning post-April 15 contributions to the next tax year. Following the standard April 15 deadline, investors must be proactive and diligent in instructing their custodian whether to apply contributions to the 2019 or 2020 tax year. 

To learn more about Traditional IRA and Roth IRA contribution limits for 2019, check out our blog post: IRA Contribution Limits FOR 2020. The post offers easy-to-reference charts highlighting contribution limits for 2018-2020.

The change presents the opportunity to revisit an existing self-directed IRA investing strategy. Discuss your 2019 and 2020 contribution strategy with your financial advisor.

The IRS has released a FAQ page to assist with questions regarding the deadline extensions. You may also contact us at [email protected] with questions on how the deadline change impacts your savings.