Mississippi Department of Revenue Issues Updated COVID-19 Guidance, Extended Deadlines, Telework Nexus Forbearance

This afternoon the Mississippi Department of Revenue issued a notice containing updated information related to multiple extended filing deadlines and audit procedures. Among the changes are the following:

• Income and franchise tax filing deadlines remain extended to May 15 (no change from prior notice)

• Sales and use tax return filing deadlines remain unchanged, but interest and penalty imposition on any unpaid balances will be extended during any period covered by the presidentially declared national emergency

• Homestead exemption applications are extended until May 1

• Tax sale deadlines in Amite, Quitman and Sunflower counties are extended until May 4

• Personal property renditions are extended until May 1; the mandatory 10% penalty will also be extended until that date

  • NOTE: the notice does not address deadlines for filing free port warehouse license applications, inventory reports, and reports of inventory movement, so taxpayers should assume normal March 31 deadlines still apply; as noted in our prior newsletter, failure to file these reports by that deadline could result in a loss of the exemption for the current tax year per prior Attorney General opinions

• The deadline for local tax assessors to furnish real and personal property tax rolls to the boards of supervisors has been extended by thirty (30) days

  • NOTE: it is unclear at this time whether the normal August deadline for filing ad valorem tax objections will be similarly extended

• Affordable rental housing owners have until April 15 to provide statements of actual net operating income to the local tax assessors

• Interest and penalty accrual has been suspended on all new assessments and prior liabilities effective March 15; this suspension will continue until the end of the national emergency

• The Department will continue to work its pending audits, but will agree to abate penalties and interest on any audits closed during the period of national emergency if the taxpayer agrees to settle the audit without appeal and pay the tax due

• Withholding requirements remain unchanged based on an employee’s temporary telework location, and the Department will not use any changes in the employees’ temporary work location to impose nexus or alter any income apportionment while those temporary telework requirements are in place

• The Department must adhere to existing statutory appeal deadlines, but remind taxpayers that electronic filing is already permitted