Iowa Admin. Code r. 701-39.2

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 8, October 30, 2024

Rule 701-39.2 - Time and place for filing

(1)Returns of individuals. A return of income must be filed on or before the due date. The due date is the last day of the fourth month following the close of the taxpayer's taxable year, whether the return be made on the basis of the calendar year or for a fiscal year, or the last day of the period covered by an extension of time granted by the department. When the due date falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday, the return will be due the following day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. Iowa Code section 421.9A contains additional information on due dates that fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. If a return is placed in the mail, properly addressed and postage paid, in ample time to reach the department on or before the due date for filing, no penalty will attach should the return not be received until after that date. Mailed returns should be addressed to Income Tax Return Processing, Department of Revenue, Hoover State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319.

Farmers and fishermen have the same filing due date as other individual taxpayers; however, those farmers and fishermen who have elected not to file a declaration of estimated tax shall file their returns and pay the tax due, on or before March 1, to avoid penalty for underpayment of estimated tax.

(2)Extension of time for filing returns for tax years beginning prior to January 1, 1986. Rescinded IAB 11/24/04, effective 12/29/04.

(3)Extension of time for filing returns for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 1986, but before January 1, 1991. Rescinded IAB 11/24/04, effective 12/29/04.

(4)Extension of time for returns for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 1991. The taxpayer is required to file the taxpayer's individual income tax return on or before the due date of the return with payment in full of the amount required to be shown due with the return. However, in any instance where the taxpayer is unable to file the return by the due date because of illness or death in the taxpayer's immediate family, unavoidable absence of the taxpayer, or other legitimate reason, the director may grant a six-month extension of time to file the return.

If the taxpayer has paid at least 90 percent of the tax required to be shown due by the due date and has not filed a return by the due date, the director will consider that the taxpayer has requested an extension of time to file the return and will automatically grant an extension of up to six months to file the return. The taxpayer does not have to file an application for extension form with the department to get the automatic extension to file the return within the six-month period after the due date and not be subject to penalty. However, if the taxpayer wants to make a tax payment to ensure that at least 90 percent of the tax has been paid on or before the due date, the payment should be made with the Iowa tax voucher form. This form can be requested from the Taxpayer Services Section, P.O. Box 10457, Des Moines, Iowa 50306, or by telephone at (515)281-3114.

To determine whether or not at least 90 percent of the tax was "paid" on or before the due date, the aggregate amount of tax credits applicable on the return plus the tax payments made on or before the due date are divided by the tax required to be shown due on the return. The tax required to be shown on the return is the sum of the income tax, lump-sum tax, minimum tax, school district income surtax, and the emergency medical services income surtax. The tax credits applicable are the credits set out in Iowa Code chapter 422, division II, and section 422.111. The tax payments to be considered for purposes of determining if 90 percent of the tax was paid are the withholding tax payments, estimate payments, and the payments made with the Iowa income tax voucher form to ensure that 90 percent of the tax was paid timely.

If the aggregate of the tax credits and the tax payments are equal to or greater than 90 percent of the tax required to be shown due, the taxpayer will have met the "90 percent" test and no penalty will be assessed. However, the taxpayer will still be subject to statutory interest on any tax due when the return is filed.

Any tax elections, such as the election to carry forward a net operating loss occurring in the tax year, will be considered to be valid in instances when the return is filed within the six-month extended period after the due date. The fact that the taxpayer has paid less than 90 percent of the tax required to be shown due will not invalidate any tax elections made on the return, if the return is filed within the six-month extended period.

a. Extensions for taxpayers with tax homes outside the United States and Puerto Rico. Taxpayers with tax homes outside the United States and Puerto Rico may, in some situations, be granted additional time to file their federal income tax returns beyond the six-month period after the federal due date. In some cases, this additional time is needed to meet residency time requirements in a foreign country so the taxpayer will be eligible for the foreign income exclusion which is also applicable to filing Iowa income tax returns. In cases where the taxpayer's tax home is outside the United States and the taxpayer has been granted additional time to file the federal income tax return which is greater than six months from the due date, the taxpayer will be deemed to have the same additional time to file the Iowa return and not be subject to penalty for late filing if 90 percent of the tax required to be shown due on the return was paid by the due date. Taxpayers with tax elections filing returns under these circumstances will be considered to have made these elections timely. However, the taxpayers should attach to their Iowa return documentation showing they were granted additional time after the six-month period from the due date to file their federal returns.

b. Payment of interest on refunds from income tax returns filed in the six-month period after the due date. The following information applies only to Iowa individual income tax returns that are filed for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 1999. In the case of Iowa returns that have overpayments of income tax that are filed in the six-month period after the due date and where at least 90 percent of the tax shown due was paid by the due date, interest at the statutory rate will be paid on the overpayments determined on the returns, starting on the first day of the second month after the end of the six-month extended period and ending in the month in which the refund is issued.

For taxpayers filing Iowa individual income tax returns for calendar-year tax years, the six-month extended period starts May 1 of the year following the end of the tax year and ends on October 31 of the year following the end of the tax year. However, if April 30 falls on a Sunday as it does in the year 2000 for 1999 Iowa individual returns filed in that year, the due date is moved to Monday, May 1. The extended period in this instance starts on Tuesday, May 2, 2000, and ends on October 31, 2000.

EXAMPLE. A husband and wife file their 1999 Iowa return on September 15, 2000. This return has an overpayment of tax of $200. Because the return is filed in the six-month period after the May 1, 2000, due date, and because the refund is issued in January 2001, interest accrues on the overpayment for the months of December 2000 and January 2001.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 422.21 and 422.25.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 701-39.2

Amended by IAB October 5, 2022/Volume XLV, Number 7, effective 11/9/2022