Public Hearing for Proposed Regulations on Federally Declared Disasters
Published in the Federal Register is an IRS notice of public hearing on proposed regulations for automatic 60-day postponement of certain deadlines following federally declared disasters. (The proposed regulations were published January 13, 2021, in the Federal Register.)
The public hearing is scheduled for March 23, 2021. Oral comments at the hearing can be made by telephone. Speakers outlines must be received by the IRS by March 15, 2021. The notice contains details on how to submit outlines and to receive an agenda prepared by the IRS. If no outlines are received, the hearing will be cancelled.
The tax-related acts covered by these proposed regulations are defined in Internal Revenue Code Section 7508A. This is the authority historically cited for postponement of deadlines in cases of local or regional disaster declarations. These postponements typically have a duration of as much as 120 days, though some are less. The new proposed regulations would create an automatic 60-day postponement in cases of federally declared disasters, ensuring that there would be at least 60 days to complete the tax-related acts covered by the guidance.
In addition to extending certain tax filing and tax payment deadlines, the postponements addressed in this guidance include completion of the many time-sensitive, tax-related acts described in IRS Revenue Procedure 2018-58 and Treasury Regulation 301.7508A-1(c)(1), which include filing Form 5500 for retirement plans, completing rollovers, making retirement plan loan payments, etc.
