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Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE – New Mexicans and their employers will have more time to file and pay their taxes as the state pushes to provide economic relief amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Personal income taxes will now be due July 15, or 90 days later than the typical mid-April deadline, for both state and federal tax returns. The state is also pushing back the corporate tax deadline to July 15.

Employers will have more time to send to the state the taxes they withhold from workers’ paychecks. The amounts for March through June will now be due in late July – a step intended to ease cash-flow problems and help avoid layoffs.

“We understand that this unprecedented public health emergency is placing enormous financial strain on many residents and businesses,” Taxation and Revenue Secretary Stephanie Schardin Clarke said in a written statement. “These tax extensions will allow individuals and businesses in New Mexico to keep more money in their pockets for the next three months and to better weather this storm.”

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The state won’t impose penalties on taxpayers who take advantage of the extra time, but state law requires interest to accrue after the original due date. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she would support waiving or refunding the interest. The state Taxation and Revenue Department, meanwhile, said it would assign extra staff to expedite the processing of refunds for taxpayers who have already filed.

The Trump administration announced Friday that it’s postponing the due date for federal tax returns until July 15.