Gov. Phil Murphy will sign an executive order later Thursday extending the state’s due date for filing the 2019 Corporation Business Tax return to Nov. 16. The returns had been due today, Thursday, Oct. 15.
Executive Order 189 also states that the Division of Taxation should not impose any penalties for failure to file a CBT report for the applicable tax year after Thursday — as long as it is filed by Nov. 16.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented circumstances for many of the businesses that call the Garden State home,” Murphy said in a statement. “As a result, it has been difficult for many businesses to meet the deadline for both federal and state returns. We are again extending the deadline to give businesses more time to properly complete the filing process.”
Ralph Thomas, the longtime executive director and CEO of the New Jersey Society of CPAs, said the announcement is a big deal for the business community — especially those still scrambling to file.
“The NJCPA is pleased that the governor’s executive order extending the CBT filing date to Nov. 16 will provide a temporary reprieve to filers who need more time, or who have received an extension to file their federal return,” he told ROI-NJ.
“While the division indicated prior to this announcement that penalties would be waived if corporate returns were filed after the Oct. 15 deadline, late filing is a practice that CPAs and their clients understandably want to avoid.”
While the extended deadline may help businesses, the order is not necessarily the news business owners would like to get.
The CBT, which was raised to 11.5% two years ago with a 2.5% surcharge, was scheduled to go back down to 9% this year. However, citing the pandemic, Murphy and the Legislature agreed to keep the CBT at 11.5%.
Administration officials say keeping the CBT at 11.5% will bring in $210 million in revenue this year.
