In a blog post today, Noah McGraw (J.D., E.A.) reminds us of what its own manual instructs IRS to do in times like these. He writes:

Per IRM 25.16.1.1 3(a), “The objectives of the Disaster Program Office are to: a. ensure eligible taxpayers receive the appropriate level of federal tax relief when they are impacted by a federally declared disaster,” and “c. timely and effectively communicate IRS disaster relief decisions to external and internal customers.”

In consideration of the level of escalation experienced over the past week, now is the time for the Service to follow the guideline and provide taxpayers with relief on this latest disaster affecting the country.

The Service should invoke IRC Section 7508A (“Authority to postpone certain deadlines by reason of Presidentially declared disaster or terroristic or military actions”) for tax returns and liabilities at least until such time that the Coronavirus could be considered by relevant health experts to be “past the peak” of the outbreak. An additional 90 days beyond this peak would be even more helpful to those businesses who are facing extreme drops in demand for their services as individuals self-quarantine across the country.

https://procedurallytaxing.com/irs-must-implement-measures-in-support-of-small-businesses-through-co...