This is a sentence I’ve never written before: It’s July 15, and your taxes are due.
For the first time, the federal government extended the deadline this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. But don’t expect another extension: the Internal Revenue Service announced last month that there would not be another blanket filing delay.
If you filed for a tax return already but did so on paper, expect a long wait for your return. As of May 16, the agency had an estimated backlog of 4.7 million paper returns.
The good news is, the IRS must pay interest on your return from April 15 until it is paid out, so long as you file your 2019 return by today. More good news: If you received an economic stimulus payment because of the pandemic, you won’t owe tax on it.
If you can’t pay your tax bill all at once, the IRS can work with you to develop a payment plan.
A reflection on obedience, gratitude, and grace
We live in a transactional world. For every cause, there is an effect. If we want to live in a country where the federal government provides Medicare and Medicaid, the national defense, and a safety net for those facing hardship, we must pay for these services.
The same is true spiritually: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7–8).
Our present faithfulness will reap reward in heaven but also benefits in this world: “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (v. 9).
This is where the juxtaposition between faith and works can be confusing. Our salvation is not the result of human efforts: “By grace you have…
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