Getty
The Internal Revenue Service today has clarified that the deadline for making Individual Retirement Account and Health Savings Account contributions for the 2019 tax year has been extended to July 15, 2020. That’s the new deadline for filing and paying taxes for the 2019 tax year, pushed back from April 15, 2020, as COVID-19 continues to impact the United States.
That’s welcome news, giving taxpayers two months extra to beef up retirement savings. “It’s clear as a bell,” says Ed Slott, an IRA expert and CPA in Rockville Centre, N.Y. “The naysayers are proved wrong.” Early reports online suggested that despite the new tax day deadline, the April 15 deadline would still apply to IRA contributions. But the tax code says the contribution deadline is the tax filing date, so since the filing date has been extended, the contribution deadline is extended.
Here’s the official word from the IRS from its Filing and Payment Deadlines Q&A:
Q17. Does this relief provide me more time to contribute money to my IRA for 2019?
A17. Yes. Contributions can be made to your IRA, for a particular year, at any time during the year or by the due date for filing your return for that year. Because the due date for filing Federal income tax returns has been postponed to July 15, the deadline for making contributions to your IRA for 2019 is also extended to July 15, 2020.
Q21. Does this relief provide me more time to contribute money to my HSA or Archer MSA for 2019?
A21. Yes. Contributions may be made to your HSA or Archer MSA, for a particular year, at any time during the year or by the due date for filing your return for that year. Because the due date for filing Federal income tax returns is now July 15, 2020, under this relief, you may make contributions to your HSA or Archer MSA for 2019 at any time up to July 15, 2020.
The maximum amount you can contribute to an IRA for the 2019 tax year is $6,000—or $7,000 if you’re 50 or older (including a $1,000 catch-up contribution). The maximum amount you can contribute to an HSA is $3,500 for individual coverage or $7,000 for family coverage (you have to have a qualifying high deductible health plan to open one of these triple tax-advantaged accounts).
You can mail your contributions and meet the deadline with a postmark by July 15. That doesn’t mean you should wait. Slott says it’s important to check with your IRA custodian that they have a system in place to earmark your contribution as a 2019 tax year contribution even if it comes in after April 15.
For more on the new July 15 deadline, see All You Wanted To Know About The IRS Tax Filing & Payment Extensions & Relief But Were Afraid To Ask.
If you can get a head start on 2020 retirement savings, see IRS Announces Higher 2020 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits For 401(k)s And More.