Don't Mess With Taxes

We had the second U.S. landfall of the 2024 hurricane season today, and federal disaster (and tax) relief is likely to be announced soon. Meanwhile, those who earlier were in the paths of an angry Mother Nature outburst already are facing new tax deadlines, starting with the one this week for those who endured the fires on Maui and Hawai'i's Big Island.

The horrific aftermath of the wildfire that destroyed the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina on Maui last August. (Photo by U.S. Civil Air Patrol via Wikimedia Commons)

Hurricane Debby made landfall as a category 1 early Monday, Aug. 5, in a sparsely populated part of northern Florida. At least two people died due to Debby, and hundreds of thousands are without power.

The tropical system now is moving north-northeast, threatening parts of Georgia and the Carolinas with potentially catastrophic flooding from expected record-setting rain.

While residents in Debby’s path await assessment by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and possible federal help, this week marks a tax deadline for other U.S. residents who previously endured a major disaster.

Aug. 7 is Hawai'i fires tax deadline: Almost a year ago, historic wildfires devastated Maui and Hawai'i. Those islands, which jurisdictionally are counties in the Aloha State, were provided relief by FEMA and the Internal Revenue Service.

The tax relief deadline is just two days away.

Wednesday, Aug. 7, is the tax due date for taxpayers on those Hawaiian islands. This deadline was previously Feb. 15, 2024.

The IRS points out that, in general, affected individuals, businesses, and tax-exempt organizations have until Aug. 7, 2024, to file their 2023 returns and pay any taxes due.

The extra-extended due date is in addition to the tax relief announced last August, shortly after the wildfires occurred.

Filing and payment specifics: The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred from Aug. 8, 2023, through Aug. 7, 2024.

Affected individuals and businesses have until Aug. 7 to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this postponement period.

This means, for example, that this week’s Aug. 7 deadline for Hawai'i and Maui taxpayers applies to:

• Individual income tax returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2024.

• 2023 contributions to individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) and health savings accounts for eligible taxpayers.

• Quarterly estimated income tax payments normally due on Sept. 15, 2023, and Jan. 16, April 15 and June 17, 2024.

• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31, 2023, and Jan. 31, April 30 and July 31, 2024.

• Calendar-year partnership and S corporation returns normally due on March 15, 2024.

• Calendar-year corporation and fiduciary returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2024.

• Calendar-year tax-exempt organization returns normally due on May 15, 2024.

In addition, individuals, businesses, and tax-exempt organizations who had valid extensions to file their 2022 returns have until Aug. 7, 2024, to file them. However, payments on these returns are not eligible for relief because they were originally due before the wildfires occurred.

More disaster deadlines ahead: In addition to this week’s tax relief deadlines, several other areas that sustained damages from major disasters also have new deadlines later this year.

They are listed below by their new tax deadline.

Sept 3, 2024 — Parts of two states now face a Sept. 3 due date to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. They are —

• Ohio taxpayers affected by tornadoes that began on March 14. The new deadline applies Buckeye State taxpayers in Auglaize, Crawford, Darke, Delaware, Hancock, Licking, Logan, Mercer, Miami, Richland, and Union counties.
• Nebraska taxpayers affected by tornadoes, severe storms, and straight-line winds that began on April 25. Cornhusker State taxpayers with the new deadline are in Boone, Douglas, Greeley, Howard, Sherman, and Washington counties.

Oct 15 — Iowa taxpayers impacted by tornadoes and severe storms that began on April 26. This applies to individuals and households that reside or have a business in Clarke, Crawford, Harrison, Mills, Polk, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Shelby, and Union counties.

Nov 1 — This new fall tax deadline applies to business and individual taxpayers in eight states that were battered by destructive storms earlier this year. They are —

• Arkansas taxpayers in areas hit by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding on May 24. The taxpayers with the new Nov. 1 deadline for various federal individual and business tax tasks are in Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Greene, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Randolph, and Sharp counties qualify for tax relief.
• Florida taxpayers affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes that began on May 10. They live in or have businesses in Baker, Columbia, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylor, and Wakulla counties.
• Iowa taxpayers again, this time who were in the path of another string of tornadoes, severe storms, and flooding that occurred on May 20. The Nov. 1 filing and payment deadline affects taxpayers in Adair, Adams, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Cedar, Cherokee, Clay, Dallas, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Harrison, Humboldt, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Kossuth, Marshall, Mitchell, Montgomery, Muscatine, Polk, Pottawattamie, Poweshiek, Shelby, Story, Tama, and Wright counties.
• Iowa taxpayers (yes, a third time…so far) who were in the path of yet more tornadoes, severe storms, flooding, and straight-line winds that battered the Hawkeye State starting June 16. The Nov. 1 filing and payment deadline applies to taxpayers in Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Harrison, Humboldt, Lyon, Monona, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Pottawattamie, Scott, Sioux, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, and Worth and Wright counties.
• Kentucky taxpayers affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, landslides, and mudslides that began on April 2. These taxpayers, both individuals and businesses, are in Boyd, Carter, Fayette, Greenup, Henry, Jefferson, Jessamine, Mason, Oldham, Union, and Whitley counties.
• Mississippi taxpayers affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding that began on April 8. The Nov. 1 due date applies to those who live in or have a business in in Hancock, Hinds, Humphreys, Madison, Neshoba, and Scott counties.
• Oklahoma taxpayers in areas hit by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding that began on May 19. These individual and business filers are in Blaine, Caddo, Cluster, Delaware, Jackson, Mayes, Muskogee, Roger Mills, Rogers, and Woods counties.
• Texas taxpayers affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding that began on April 26. The Nov. 1 extension applies to Lone Star State individuals and businesses in Anderson, Austin, Bailey, Baylor, Bell, Blanco, Bosque, Brown, Caldwell, Calhoun, Cass, Cherokee, Clay, Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Eastland, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Freestone, Gonzales, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Hardin, Harris, Hays, Henderson, Hill, Hockley, Hopkins, Houston, Jasper, Jones, Kaufman, Lamar, Lampasas, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Lynn, Madison, McCulloch, Milam, Mills, Montague, Montgomery, Morris, Navarro, Newton, Panola, Polk, Rains, Robertson, Rockwall, Rusk, San Augustine, San Jacinto, San Saba, Shelby, Smith, Sterling, Terrell, Titus, Trinity, Tyler, Van Zandt, Walker, Waller, and Washington counties.
• West Virginia taxpayers affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides that began on April 11. The Nov. 1 deadline is available to individuals and households that reside or have a business in Boone, Brooke, Doddridge, Gilmer, Hancock, Kanawha, Lincoln, Marshall, Ohio, Roane, Tyler, Wetzel, and Wood counties.

The bold-faced state names are links to the IRS announcements with specific tax relief details for all affected disaster areas

You can check the IRS.gov Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page for any updates on covered areas and deadlines. You also can visit the ol’ tax blog periodically for updates.

Claiming a disaster tax deduction: In addition to extended deadlines, all taxpayers in major disaster areas have the option to claim uninsured disaster losses as an itemized tax deduction.

They also get to choose the tax year in which to make the claim. It can be made in either the tax year in which the loss occurred, or for the prior tax year.

Filing a prior-year disaster claim could get you a tax refund now, providing money you can use toward storm recovery efforts. But run the numbers to see which filing year will get you more tax relief.

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 might find these items of interest:

• Resources to help deal with major natural disasters
• Hurricane season 2024 looks to be fulfilling its most-active forecast. Get ready now.
• Storm Warnings: Preparing for, recovering from, and helping those affected by natural disasters
• Feb. 3, 2025, is new tax deadline for Texas taxpayers in Hurricane Beryl's path, as well as for disaster-area taxpayers in KY and MO

Updated 5:50 p.m., Aug. 5, 2024, to add more Nov. 1 deadline states.

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