Act No. 67/2020 Coll. on Extraordinary Financial Measures in Response to the COVID 19 Pandemic resulted in an extension to the deadline for filing of 2019 tax returns.
Under §22 (1) of the Act, a special deadline for filing corporate income tax returns for 2019 was introduced (the period expired or was scheduled to expire during the pandemic), specifically until the end of the calendar month following the end of the pandemic period. By the same deadline, the taxpayer must pay any income tax due for the 2019 tax period.
This change in the deadline for filing a 2019 tax return also affects advance payments.
In accordance with §42 (7) of the Income Tax Act, a taxpayer pays advance corporate income tax payments until the deadline for filing the tax return for the previous tax period based on its tax obligation as reported on the tax return for the previous tax period, which in this case is the 2018 tax return.
Therefore, taxpayers whose deadline for filing a corporate income tax return expires during the pandemic (any time after 12 March 2020) shall pay advance payments based on their 2018 tax obligation until the end of the calendar month following the end of the pandemic. The above applies to taxpayers who filed their tax return in the period specified under the Income Tax Act, i.e. by 31 March.
Please note that any delay in payment of advance corporate income tax payments during the pandemic shall be subject to default interest pursuant to §156 of the Tax Code.
The government approved an amendment of Act No. 67/2020 Coll. on 16 April 2020 (the law took effect on the date of its publication in the Collection of Acts). Via this amendment, advance income tax payments for the period in which a taxpayer is obliged to pay such advance income tax payments due during the pandemic are not paid for the period immediately following a period in which the taxpayer’s revenues decreased by at least 40% compared to the same period in the previous calendar year. Non-payment of advance payments is applied by submitting a statement stating the taxpayer fulfils the specified conditions at least 15 days in advance of the end of the payment term for such advance income tax payment.
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