Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced the extension of the due date for 2020 franchise tax reports to July 15 so that it will be consistent with the Internal Revenue Service's updated dates due to COVID-19, San Angelo Live reported.

The change was made to provide businesses in the state with some relief and since the change in due date is automatic, taxpayers do not need to file any additional forms regarding the extension, according to the news agency.

The Texas Franchise Tax is imposed on taxable entities that are formed or organized in the state or are doing business in the state. It is not collected from consumers of the taxable entities, the news agency reported.

“We recognize that the information aggregated from taxpayers’ federal tax returns comprises the building blocks for their Texas franchise tax returns,” Hegar said, according to the news agency. “In addition to coping with the unprecedented impacts of the growing pandemic, we understand the difficulty Texas businesses will face in filing franchise tax returns now that the federal deadline has moved, and so we thought it appropriate to align the state’s franchise tax deadline with the IRS deadline.”

If a non-electronic funds transfer taxpayer cannot file by July 15, they may then file an extension request and then must pay at least 90% of the tax due for the current year or all of the tax reported as due with the request. They will then have until Jan. 15 to file a report and pay the remainder, according to the news agency.

Electronic funds transfer taxpayers can request an extension until Aug. 15, but also must pay 90% of the tax due for the current year or all of the tax reported as due with the request. They also then have until Jan. 15 to file. Payments made after Aug. 15 will be subject to interest and penalties, San Angelo Live reported.