The AICPA has also criticized the extent of the relief, pointing out that millions of small business owners and individuals who pay estimated taxes, as well as those who make trust income tax payments and return filings on Form 1041 or corporate income tax payments and return filings on various Forms 1120, will not benefit due to the narrowness of the relief. 

“Americans, individuals and small businesses have been impacted immeasurably. The fact is virtually all aspects of the federal government and state and local governments have also been impacted. A fair assessment might conclude, for a variety of reasons, that the IRS has been affected more than other federal agencies. I believe taxpayers and practitioners understand this,” said AICPA CEO Barry Melancon. “It is commendable that the IRS wants to demonstrate a return to normalcy. However, the IRS, through no fault of their employees, is seeing significant backlogs, inundated phone lines, unopened mail by the millions and systems sending out unwarranted notices. Extending all tax returns due to June 15th exhibits an understanding of the IRS' impact on the American public.”

Nonetheless, the AICPA, in a separate statement, defended the postponement against those who'd prefer it not happen at all. “Opponents of a deadline postponement fail to consider that while any taxpayer has the ability to file for an extension, the process can itself be unduly burdensome, said Melancon. “To claim there are no issues with retaining the April 15th filing and payment deadline does not reflect the taxpayers’ perspective. We must not minimize or trivialize the hardships of taxpayers and tax professionals or the urgent need for deferment from an arduous filing environment."