Don't Mess With Taxes

Update, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024: Following the devastation of Hurricane Milton across central Florida on Oct. 9, the Internal Revenue Service today granted tax relief to those affected taxpayers, giving them until May 1, 2025, to meet a variety of tax filing and payment obligations. In addition, it granted this relief and new May due date to all Florida taxpayers. You can find details in my post on the IRS move.

Update, Thursday, June 27, 2024: The Internal Revenue Service today granted tax relief to Mississippi taxpayers in major disaster areas from early-April severe weather in that state. You can find details in the post text below.

Update, Wednesday, June 26, 2024: The Internal Revenue Service today granted tax relief to New Mexico  taxpayers in major disaster areas created by this month's wildfires and flooding in that state. You can find details in the post text below.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) most sophisticated Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) is the GOES-R Series. The satellites provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s Western Hemisphere, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and improved monitoring of solar activity and space weather. Photo courtesy NOAA/National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS).

Being a life-long weather and space nerd, I flipped my television to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) cable channel Tuesday  afternoon to watch the launch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) GOES-U weather satellite.

It’s the last of the GOES-R series of four satellites whose data, say scientists, will revolutionize how we monitor meteorological events on our planet.

"Not only does the GOES-R series provide observations where radar coverage is lacking, but it often provides a robust signal before radar, such as when a storm is strengthening or weakening. I'm sure there have been many other improvements in forecasts and environmental monitoring over the last decade, but this is where I have most clearly seen improvement," John Cintineo, a researcher from NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), told Space.com.

The latest disaster tax relief: Such assistance is sorely needed, based on the wide range of severe weather that’s erupted across the United States just this year.

The launch of the improved weather satellite also is a good time to bring in my third fixation. Yes, I’m talking taxes.

And I’m specifically talking tax relief the Internal Revenue Service grants after severe weather events prompt the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to declare major disaster areas.

I try to stay up to date with the IRS announcements, but sometimes other tax topics pre-empt the severe weather tax relief posts. So here’s are those missing notices for individual and business taxpayers in parts of 10 states: Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia.

In nine of the 10 states, affected taxpayers have a new Nov. 1 deadline to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make payments. The exception is for some Massachusetts filers, who are facing a July 31 due date.

Below are the affected counties and new deadlines. You can get full tax details in the IRS’ specific disaster tax relief announcements, which you can reach by clicking on the bold-face linked states’ names.

Massachusetts — Federal tax relief is granted to taxpayers who live or have a business in Bristol and Worcester counties. These Bay State counties were hit by severe storms and flooding that began on Sept. 11, 2023, and now have until July 31 to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

And here are the nine states where disaster area residents have a new Nov. 1 deadline.

Arkansas — Severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding moved across the Natural State on May 24. In the wake of damages left by the damaging weather, federal tax relief is granted for individuals and businesses in the Arkansas counties of Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Greene, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Randolph, and Sharp. These taxpayers now have until Nov. 1 to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

Florida — On May 10, severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes moved across the Sunshine State. Individuals that reside or have a business in Baker, Columbia, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylor, and Wakulla counties now have until Nov. 1 to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. SEE UPDATE NOTE AT TOP OF THIS POST. May 1, 2025, is now the new disaster relief deadline for all Florida taxpayers.

Iowa — A month ago, an EF-4 tornado ripped through Greenfield, Iowa, devastating much of the community that’s the county seat of Adair County. Other Hawkeye State locales also sustained damages from the severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that occurred on May 20. Those affected individuals and business owners in Adair, Adams, Cedar, Jasper, Montgomery, Polk, and Story counties now have until Nov. 1 to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

EF4 tornado approaching Greenfield, Iowa on May 21, 2024. (Photo by Isaac Polanski)

Kentucky — On April 2, severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and land- and mudslides left many individuals and businesses in the Bluegrass State dealing with disastrous damages. Those taxpayers in in Boyd, Carter, Fayette, Greenup, Henry, Jefferson, Jessamine, Mason, Oldham, Union, and Whitley counties now have until Nov. 1 to meet various federal tax requirements.

Mississippi — Severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding started moving across portions of the Magnolia State on April 8. FEMA declared major disasters in Hancock, Hinds, Humphreys, Madison, Neshoba, and Scott. The IRS on June 27 announced that individuals and households that reside or have a business in those Mississippi counties now have, among other relief, until Nov. 1 to meet various federal tax filing and payment responsibilities.

New Mexico — Southern New Mexico was devastated by the South Fork Fire, Salt Fire, and subsequent flooding that began on June 17. The IRS announced on June 26 that individuals and households that reside or have a business in  Lincoln, Otero, Rio Arriba, and San Juan counties, and on lands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe qualify for tax relief that includes, among other consideration, until Nov. 1 to meet various federal tax filing and payment responsibilities. 

Oklahoma — FEMA declared the Sooner State counties of Blaine, Caddo, Cluster, Delaware, Jackson, Mayes, Muskogee, and Rogers major disaster areas after they were struck by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding that began on May 19. Individuals and businesses in these Oklahoma counties now have until Nov. 1 to file various tax returns and make tax payments.

Texas — Parts of the Lone Star State endured severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding that started on April 26. When the damaging systems cleared, FEMA designated the following counties as major disaster areas: Austin, Bell, Bosque, Brown, Caldwell, Calhoun, Clay, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, Eastland, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Freestone, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Hockley, Houston, Jasper, Jones, Kaufman, Lamar, Lampasas, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Lynn, Madison, Mills, Montague, Montgomery, Navarro, Newton, Panola, Polk, Robertson, Smith, San Augustine, San Jacinto, San Saba, Shelby, Smith, Sterling, Terrell, Trinity, Tyler, Van Zandt, Walker, Waller, and Washington. Individual and business taxpayers in those counties now have until Nov. 1 to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

West Virginia — Federal tax relief was granted for parts of the Mountain State affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding, and land- and mudslides that began on April 2. Individuals and businesses in Boone, Brooke, Cabell, Fayette, Hancock, Kanawha, Lincoln, Marshall, Nicholas, Ohio, Preston, Putnam, Tyler, Wayne, and Wetzel counties now have until Nov. 1 to file various federal returns and make payments. The IRS notes that taxpayers in Boone and Kanawha counties, who already had until June 17 to file and pay because of a prior declaration, now have even more time to take care of tax tasks covered by this latest disaster relief.
    

    
Other disaster tax considerations: Regular readers of the ol’ blog know what’s in this section of today’s post. Taxpayers who sustain uninsured disaster losses might be able to claim them as an itemized tax deduction.

You can find more about potential disaster tax deductions, including the option to choose which tax year in which to make the claim (the year of the disaster or the prior tax year) in my post Considerations in making a major disaster tax claim.

You also can find more on taxes and major disasters in the following posts.

• Picking up the pieces after a major disaster (after Tennessee info)
• Document your property for tax, insurance claims before storms hit
• Retirement plan tax rules when using the savings to recover from a disaster
• IRS and other government resources can help you deal with a natural disaster
• Storm Warnings: Preparing for, recovering from, and helping those affected by natural disasters

Want even more? Then peruse the ol' blog's posts in the disaster category.

…3, 2, 1, Liftoff: Finally, since I started this post with the GOES satellite launch, I’m ending with it, specifically NASA’s post on X (formerly Twitter) that includes video of today’s liftoff.

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