By Karen Hube
If you haven't done your taxes by now, you might ponder a filing extension. The good news: You aren't alone. The bad news: You still have to pay your taxes by end of day on Monday.
The percentage of taxpayers who file for deadline extensions doubled in the past two decades, with 19.5 million expected to do so this tax season. Millions more get automatic extensions because they're in zones hit by hurricanes, wildfires, snowstorms, or other disasters. The IRS issued more than 30 disaster extensions in 2023, up from 19 in 2022.
There are differences in extension rules for taxpayers in and out of disaster zones. All taxpayers can extend their deadline by six months by filing Form 4868 on April 15 (or April 17 for Massachusetts and Maine due to state holidays). An extension to Oct. 15 is for filing a return, not for paying taxes owed. The penalty is 5% on taxes owed for filing later than your deadline, 0.5% for underpayments, plus 8% interest compounded daily.
Disaster-related extensions are typically both for filing and paying taxes due, and automatically granted for taxpayers in disaster zones; there's no need to file a Form 4868. Rules vary by zone, so taxpayers should carefully read the IRS notice about their location.
Why has late filing grown? Weather disasters are on the rise, and filers struggle with both getting tax forms and with the process. It apparently hasn't gotten easier.
Email: editors@barrons.com
Last Week
Markets
Gold set another record, with gold miners Newmont and Barrick Gold surging. Fitch cut its rating on Chinese sovereign debt because of shaky public finances. Oil prices rose to over $90 a barrel on fears of an Iranian strike against Israel. March consumer prices came in hot again at 3.5%, above February's 3.2%, and stocks sold off on fears of rate-cut delays. First-quarter earnings season began. On the week, the Dow industrials fell 2.37%, the S&P 500 1.56%, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.45%.
Companies
Taiwan Semiconductor said it would increase its investment in Arizona from $40 billion to $65 billion and make cutting-edge two-nanometer chips there. Federal regulators are investigating how the engine cover blew off on a Boeing jet flown by Southwest Airlines during takeoff. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned in his annual letter that interest rates could hit 8% due to the federal deficit and geopolitical stress. Chase led off big bank earnings with lackluster interest-income guidance. Shares fell.
Deals
HSBC sold its Argentina business and took a billion-dollar loss... Blackstone agreed to buy Apartment Income REIT for some $10 billion... Vertex Pharmaceuticals agreed to purchase Alpine Immune Sciences for $4.9 billion in cash...Bloomberg reported that the Justice Department had opened an extended antitrust review of Nippon Steel's plan to buy U.S. Steel. Shareholders of the U.S. company voted overwhelmingly for the deal.
Write to Robert Teitelman at bob.teitelman@dowjones.com
Next Week
Monday 4/15
More than 40 companies in the S&P 500 index report earnings this week, with financial firms making up nearly half of them. Charles Schwab and Goldman Sachs Group announce results before the opening bell on Monday. Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Morgan Stanley, and PNC Financial Services Group follow suit on Tuesday. U.S. Bancorp releases earnings on Wednesday, Blackstone on Thursday, and American Express closes out the week on Friday.
The Census Bureau reports its advance estimate of retail and food service sales for March. Consensus estimate is for retail sales to increase 0.4% month over month to $704 billion, after a 0.6% gain in February. Excluding autos, sales are expected to rise 0.3%, two-tenths of a percentage point less than previously.
Tuesday 4/16
A handful of megacap companies in the healthcare, pharma, and technology sectors report results, starting with Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth Group on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories and ASML Holding release earnings before the market open on Wednesday. Netflix and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing hold conference calls to discuss quarterly results on Thursday, and Procter & Gamble rounds out the week on Friday.
Email: editors@barrons.com
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April 12, 2024 19:06 ET (23:06 GMT)
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