Don't Mess With Taxes

Screenshot from Atlanta's 11Alive report via YouTube on Tropical Storm Idalia's impact on Southeast Georgia.

It took a while longer than expected, but southeast Georgia residents who were in the path of Hurricane-turned-Tropical-Storm Idalia finally get the same relief as their neighbors.

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that individuals and businesses in 28 of the Peach State's counties qualify for special tax consideration, including a new Feb. 15, 2024, deadline for filing and paying certain taxes.

The delayed tax due date, which matches the one granted Florida and South Carolina taxpayers, applies to deadlines that occurred from Aug. 30, 2023, through next Feb. 15.

Oct. 16 and more now Feb. 15, 2024: The tax situations that fall within this postponement period and now are due next February include —

• Individuals who had a valid extension until Oct. 16 to file their 2022 tax return.
  
  NOTE: The Feb. 15, 2024, deadline applies to the filing of 1040 forms only. Extension requests are granted for submission of tax forms; the extension does not delay payments. Any tax associated with 2022 filings was due by April 18, 2023, meaning those payments are not eligible for the Idalia relief. Penalties and interest will continue accrue on unpaid 2022 taxes.
  
  
• Quarterly estimated income tax payments normally due on Sept. 15, 2023, and Jan. 16, 2024.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31, 2023, and Jan. 31, 2024.
• Calendar-year partnerships and S corporations whose 2022 extensions run out on Sept. 15, 2023.
• Calendar-year corporations whose 2022 extensions run out on Oct. 16, 2023.
• Calendar-year tax-exempt organizations whose extensions run out on Nov. 15, 2023.

The IRS also said penalties for the failure to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 30, 2023, and before Sept. 14, 2023, will be abated as long as the deposits are made by Sept. 14, 2023.

Affected areas: So where, exactly, in Georgia do these new tax deadlines apply?

Working off Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports from the state, the IRS' tax relief applies to the counties cited by its cousin agency. They Georgia counties shown in the map below that get certain federal disaster relief.

If you're looking at the FEMA map on a smaller handheld device, the counties eligible for tax relief are:

If FEMA later adds other counties to the disaster declaration, those locales also will get the same tax relief. I'll update the list if that happens. You also can track the eligible localities at the IRS.gov's disaster relief page.

I know even folks who've endured major disasters are tired of reading this, but I don't want to give my friends and family members, as well as unrelated readers, short shrift and simply ask them to click to another page. So, for Georgians who are eligible for Idalia tax relief, here goes.

No need to call IRS: The IRS relies on its taxpayer database for disaster relief, meaning it automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer whose IRS address of record is in the disaster area.

However, it is possible an affected taxpayer may not have an IRS address of record located in the disaster area. This could be the case, for example, where someone moved to Georgia after filing their most recent return and did not notify the IRS of their new address.

In these circumstances, affected taxpayers could receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS for the postponement period. The taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.

In addition, the IRS will work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area, but whose records necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period are located in the affected areas. These taxpayers should contact the IRS at (866) 562-5227.

This option also applies to workers assisting the relief activities provided through a recognized government or philanthropic organization.

Claiming a disaster tax deduction: Federal tax law also provides those who've endured a major disaster the option to claim any uninsured losses as a tax deduction. You also get to decide on the tax year you use to make the claims.

I discuss this option in the all-too-frequent disaster declaration posts here on the ol' blog. You can find more about disaster claim filings in my post Considerations in making a major disaster tax claim.

But I do want to reiterate here the choice of tax year in claiming eligible disaster losses. You can claim qualifying losses in either the year the disaster occurred, or the previous tax year.

Affected Georgia taxpayers who can claim Hurricane Idalia losses as an itemized tax deduction need to carefully determine whether to count them on their 2022 or 2023 tax returns.

Taxpayers who got extensions to file 2022 returns can make the claims on that return now due Feb. 15, 2024.

However, Idalia-affected Georgians who've already filed their 2022 returns can amend that filing and claim the hurricane losses on Form 1040-X if that provides a better tax result. Or if claiming qualifying disaster losses on their 2023 returns is preferable, then they can do that on when they file this year's return that's due by April 15, 2024.

Regardless of which tax filing you choose to make the disaster loss claim, include the FEMA disaster number DR-4738-GA on all related filings.

You can read more about making major disaster loss tax claims in IRS Publication 547. The IRS' Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses page also has more information on returns, payments, and tax-related actions for qualifying taxpayers.

Finally, you also might find these earlier blog posts of interest:

• Picking up the pieces after a major disaster
• Document your property for tax, insurance claims before storms hit
• Storm Warnings: Preparing for, recovering from, and helping those affected by natural disasters

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