The income tax submitting season begins February 12th

PROVIDENCE, RI – The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it will start federal tax filing season on Friday, February 12, 2021. For the benefit and convenience of taxpayers and tax advisors, Rhode Island tax returns season begins on the same date.

As a result, Rhode Island Tax Services will officially begin accepting and processing electronically filed income tax returns and paper returns on Forms RI-1040 and RI-1040NR on February 12, 2021.

However, for low-income taxpayers, the department has already started accepting and processing stand-alone RI-1040H (Rhode Island Property Tax Relief Claim) forms that have been submitted on paper. This only applies to Form RI-1040H submitted on paper. The department will not accept electronic returns using the RI-1040H until February 12th. Although the department is now accepting the paper-filed stand-alone Form RI-1040H, the department is reminding applicants that paper returns will take time to process. Therefore, applicants for stand-alone paper returns on Form RI-1040H should allow at least two weeks to process their returns and issue refunds (provided a complete and accurate form is submitted and the taxpayer is eligible for a refund).

The official start of the registration season usually takes place at the end of January of a given year. This year, the official start is February 12th to give the IRS time to do additional programming and testing of IRS systems after amendments to the federal tax law were passed on December 27th, 2020 that require a second round of economic impact payments and other provisions. See: https://go.usa.gov/xAVxt. Preparers and taxpayers typically prepare their federal return before preparing their Rhode Island declaration, and submit both at the same time.

As in previous years, some tax preparation software providers may give tax writers and taxpayers the option of filing tax returns in advance. In such cases, vendors can hold the electronically submitted returns until the official start date of the registration season.

The RI-1040H form can be downloaded from the following link: http://www.tax.ri.gov/forms/2020/Income/2020%20RI-1040H_w.pdf.

The department will begin accepting and processing electronically filed income tax returns, including electronically filed tax returns using Form RI-1040H, on Friday, February 12, 2021. “We encourage everyone to file electronically. Electronic filing is faster, fewer errors and faster refunds,” said Neena Savage, Rhode Island Tax Administrator. “In addition, electronic filing is the only way for a taxpayer to receive a personal Rhode Island income tax refund through direct deposit,” she said. (Paper filings must be refunded by check.) Electronic filing also saves the tax department processing costs, which in turn saves money for all taxpayers, Savage said. It is also important to note that Paid Preparers must comply with the Rhode Island e-file mandate under general Rhode Island laws, Section 44-1-31.1 (“Returns Required by Paid Tax Return Preparers”, and subject to regulation 280-RICR-20 -30-2 (“Electronic filing for paid creators”).

BUSINESS RETURNS, FIDUCIARY RETURNS The department has already begun processing business returns on Form RI-1065 (“Partnership Income Return”), Form RI-1120S (“Subchapter S Business Corporation Tax Return”), and Form RI-1120C (” ) to accept and process. Corporate tax return “), whether submitted electronically or on paper. In addition, the department has already begun accepting and processing RI-1041 “Escrow Income Tax Returns” returns, whether filed electronically or on paper. The department advocates filing corporate and escrow tax returns electronically because it is faster, causes fewer errors, and generates refunds more quickly. Paid creators are also subject to the legal and regulatory requirements for mandatory electronic filing.

The closing date for registrations is April 15, 2021. The usual annual deadline for filing and paying Rhode Island income tax is April 15. In a few years, the deadline was postponed to other days, as April 15 fell on a weekend or Emancipation Day holiday in Washington, DC (which the IRS is watching). This season, the deadline for submission and payment is Thursday, April 15, 2021.

All Rhode Island resident and non-Rhode Island resident income tax returns and related payments for the 2020 tax year must be emailed or stamped on or before April 15, 2021. (Extensions by six months are permitted, but they are extensions of the registration period, not to be paid in due time.)

Overall, the division expects more than 650,000 resident and non-resident income tax returns for the 2020 tax year this year. April 15 is also the deadline for paying quarterly estimated income tax in the first quarter for the 2021 tax year.

The business data submission deadline of April 15, 2021 is also the filing deadline for multiple Rhode Island companies, as shown below:

– Corporate Income Tax RI-1120C – April 15, 2021 – Gross Public Service Income Tax T-72 – April 15, 2021 – Bank Excise Tax T-74 April 15, 2021 – Gross Insurance Premium Tax T-71 – April 15, 2021 – Individual Income Tax * RI- 1040 – April 15, 2021 – Individual Member LLC ** RI-1065 – April 15, 2021 – Trust Income Tax, Estate RI-1041 – April 15, 2021 * Includes non-resident returns on Form RI-1040NR. ** Sole proprietorships with limited liability (SMLLC) use the same due date and extended due date as their owner. The table assumes that the owner is a person in the calendar year.

Returns for partnerships and limited liability companies (filing as pass-through companies) and returns for sub-chapter S companies are due on Monday, March 15, 2021. Returns where pass-through businesses are withheld; compound income tax returns; and returns on form RI-PTE (“Pass-through-Entity Election Tax Return”) are also due on March 15, 2021.6 Form T-71A (“Surplus Line Broker Return of Gross Premiums”) is due on April 1 Due in 2021.

TAX FORMS For those without tax preparation software, personal income tax forms are now available on the Division’s website for the new 2020 tax filing season – including Form RI-1040H, which includes the statewide property tax credit. Click here to view the forms. The department has also released business-related forms for the 2020 tax year, including forms for C companies, S companies, partnerships, limited companies, and others.

This year, the extended due date for the 2020 return is Friday October 15, 2021. 6 Corporations, LLCs, and partnerships in Subchapter S must submit Form RI-1096PT on or before the fifteenth day of the third month after the pass is closed. by the company’s tax year (March 15, 2021 for a transit company whose tax year for federal income tax purposes is the calendar year). Trusts must file Form RI-1096PT on or before the fifteenth day of the fourth month following the end of the pass-through company’s tax year (April 15, 2021) for a pass-through company whose tax year for federal income tax purposes is this Calendar year).

The Tax Department recently published the brochure with the withholding tax tables for the 2021 tax year on its website. Employers use the tables to calculate how much of a worker’s pay should be withheld for income tax purposes in Rhode Island. To view it click here. Click here for a copy of the 2021 withholding tax calendar for employers. For employees and others, the department recently released version 2021 of the RI W-4 “Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate”. (An employee uses Form RI W-4 to adjust the amount of Rhode Island income tax that is withheld from the employee’s paycheck.)