When is the Mississippi State Tax Return Deadline in 2020?

At one point the due date for filing your Mississippi income tax return was May 15, but it has been pushed back to a later date.

Normally, Mississippi individual income tax returns are due April 15—but these are not normal times. In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state has moved the deadline twice.

In March, the state moved the deadline to file and pay 2019 individual income tax to May 15, 2020. First quarter 2020 Mississippi estimated tax payments were also extended to May 15.

However, the due date was later extended to July 15, 2020. Both first quarter and second quarter estimated Mississippi tax payments were also pushed back to July 15. This matches the due date for federal income tax returns and estimated tax payments for the first half of the year.

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Filing Extensions Beyond July 15

If you're unable to file your Mississippi tax return by July 15, and you expect to owe state tax, then you should file for an extension to October 15, 2020. The only way to file for a Mississippi extension is to file Form 80-106. Make sure you check the "Extension Payment" box and submitting the estimated amount of tax due.

If you don't expect to owe a tax, then you don't have to do anything. That includes sending a federal tax return extension form to the Mississippi Department of Revenue (they can't process the federal form).

Be warned, though, that an extension of time to file your return is not an extension of time to pay the tax due. Any tax due after July 15, 2020, is subject to a late payment penalty of 0.5% per month (not to exceed 25%) and interest of 0.5% per month. Plus, a Mississippi return that isn't filed by October 15 is subject to late filing penalty of 5% per month (not to exceed 25%).

Rocky Mengle

Rocky Mengle was a Senior Tax Editor for Kiplinger from October 2018 to January 2023 with more than 20 years of experience covering federal and state tax developments. Before coming to Kiplinger, Rocky worked for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, and Kleinrock Publishing, where he provided breaking news and guidance for CPAs, tax attorneys, and other tax professionals. He has also been quoted as an expert by USA Today, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, Reuters, Accounting Today, and other media outlets. Rocky holds a law degree from the University of Connecticut and a B.A. in History from Salisbury University.