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BOSTON (SHNS) – The state Department of Revenue on Thursday morning announced updates to administrative tax relief measures provided to businesses during the pandemic.
The agency said that its updates include resuming monthly return filing and payment remittance as scheduled starting June 30 for vendors and operators, only on a going-forward basis, beginning with returns and payments attributable to May tax collections.
DOR also announced an extension of the previously announced deferral of regular sales tax, meals tax, and room occupancy taxes for small businesses, with eligible businesses now able to defer until October 30 returns and payments otherwise due from March 20, 2020 through June 1, 2021.
“Businesses that collected less than $150,000 in regular sales plus meals taxes in the twelve-month period ending February 29, 2020, are eligible for relief for sales and meals taxes, and businesses that collected less than $150,000 in room occupancy taxes in the twelve-month period ending February 29, 2020, are eligible for relief with respect to room occupancy taxes. For these small businesses, no penalties or interest will accrue during this extension period,” DOR said. “For businesses with meals tax and room occupancy tax obligations that do not otherwise qualify for this relief, late-file and late-pay penalties for returns due from March 20, 2020, through June 1, 2021, are waived through October 30, 2021.”
The agency plans to issue emergency regulations and a technical information release to implement the changes.