Late fees and interest charges on 2020 business franchise taxes have been temporarily waived.
Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston announced that these fees will be waived until July 15. Typically, the filing deadline is May 1, but businesses that file between May 2 and July 15 will have their fees waived.
The usual penalty for filing franchise taxes is a $25 late fee plus 0.000274 percent interestfor every day the payment is late.
“The May 1 deadline is set by state law, however, we thought this would be one way to help companies who may need a little extra time to get their tax payments in order. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is having a serious impact on our business community and we want to help them in any way that we can,” Thurston said in a statement.
This move puts the franchise tax deadline in line with both federal and state individual tax deadlines. U.S. Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin announced that the deadline for federal taxes would be moved to July 15 on March 20, with Arkansas officials following suit on March 23.
To file franchise taxes online, click here.
