The Internal Revenue Service just issued revised guidance extending relief for certain partnerships, real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs), and other entities that did not file the required returns by the new due date for tax years beginning in 2016.

The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (Surface Transportation Act) changed the date by which a partnership, REMIC, or other entity must file its annual return. For calendar year filers, the due date for filing the annual return or request for an extension changed from April 15 (April 18 in 2017) to March 15.

Many entities filed their returns or their extension request for tax year 2016 by the April deadline, and if not for the Surface Transportation Act, these returns and requests for extension of time to file would have been on time.

Notice 2017-47 provided relief from the penalty for failure to timely file for partnerships and REMICs that filed by the date that would have been timely prior to amendment by the Surface Transportation Act.

Notice 2017-71 amplifies, clarifies, and supersedes Notice 2017-47 by providing that additional acts, such as the making of various elections, of partnerships, REMICs, and certain other entities made by the date that would have been timely prior to amendment by the Surface Transportation Act will be treated as timely.

An earlier release of Notice 2017-71 provided this relief only to taxpayers whose taxable years began and ended in 2016, but this revised guidance also applies to fiscal-year filers whose taxable years began in 2016 but did not end until 2017.