May 17 Tax Day deadline: What you need to know

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Tomorrow is the last day to file state and federal income tax returns. What should taxpayers know about this approaching deadline?

The traditional April 15 deadline for North Carolina state income tax returns was extended to May 17, mirroring the federal income tax return deadline extension made by the IRS.

These deadlines were also extended last year, which Wilmington CPA David Lewis, says may cause confusion amongst taxpayers this year.

“I think there are probably some folks, some people that are not aware that may 17th is the deadline that was extended from April, and just are not aware of it,” said David Lewis, CPA.

Which could lead to some people scrambling at the last minute to meet the deadline.

Lewis says there were some new federal changes regarding taxes, that could impact some taxpayers.

“The big difference this year, I think is we’ve had more changes in the tax law, last year there weren’t so much changes,” said Lewis. “It was just the nature of trying to get together with people and get their information, their data.”

Saying those who collected unemployment may be impacted by the new tax bill.

“The biggest one that might affect folks, if you collected unemployment, the first $10,200 of it may be eligible to not be taxed, and by not eligible meaning that it just would be excluded from your tax return, anything over that will you still pay taxes on, but that will be a big help to many folks,” said Lewis.

Many people still needing to file their tax returns to receive stimulus checks, may not have received their payments, or are entitled to more through the Economic Impact Payment Recovery Rebate Credit.

“The IRS is actually holding up the refunds on those returns, because they’re looking at each of them individually making sure that the payments match up, and so I’ve been receiving many calls from folks expecting refunds, they’re not getting them yet, because the IRS is just taking that extra time to make sure that the payments do match up,” said Lewis.

Lewis also advised anyone who has not filed their tax returns by May 17, to file for an extension until October 15, to avoid possible penalties.