Sales and Use Tax Extension for Minnesota Businesses Affected by Coronavirus Closures
On March 18, 2020, the Minnesota Department of Revenue announced that it would provide a Sales and Use Tax grace period for all businesses affected by Governor Tim Walz's March 16, 2020 Executive Order 20-04. For businesses affected by this order, the grace period will provide a much-needed break in this time of uncertainty.
Order 20-04 requires that certain businesses remain closed to public use and occupancy. Those businesses include a myriad of businesses, including (but not limited to) restaurants, bars, cafes, pubs, breweries, gyms, recreation centers, sports facilities, spas, indoor recreation facilities, country clubs, golf clubs and other listed establishments.
As an interim measure to ease the financial strain on these identified businesses, the state of Minnesota has provided a grace period of 30 days for any identified business whose sales and use tax would be due on March 20, 2020. This tax payment may now be made until April 20, 2020 without penalty. At this time, it applies only to monthly filers and only for the March 20, 2020 payment. Businesses should still file their return on March 20, 2020, but the payment period is extended to April 20, 2020.
