Don't Mess With Taxes

Update, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024 — Deadly Hurricane Helene has changed deadlines for areas in four states — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina — that earlier were in Hurricane Debby’s path. Instead of Debby’s Feb. 3, 2025, deadline, affected taxpayers in those states now have a later Helene-prompted deadline of May 1, 2025.

UPDATE, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024: The IRS today announced tax relief, including a Feb. 3, 2025, deadline for estimated tax and other filings and payments for taxpayers in four Pennsylvania counties in the aftermath of Hurricane Debby, which made landfall in Florida on Aug. 5 and then moved up the Eastern Seaboard. Details in this post about all the areas affected by Debby.

UPDATE, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024: The IRS today announced tax relief, including a Feb. 3, 2025, deadline for estimated tax and other filings and payments for all Louisiana residents after Hurricane Francine made landfall there this week as a category 2 storm. Details in post below.

Sept. 16 is not the estimated tax deadline for certain filers in 18 19 20 states (see update above) and two U.S. territories. These individual and business taxpayers are in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) major disaster areas. Some now have a Nov. 1 due date. Others have until Feb. 3, 2025, to meet their estimated and other tax obligations. Details in post below.
   

Millions of us are working to meet next week’s Sept. 16 deadline for our third estimated tax payment of the 2024 tax year.

Many others, however, are dealing with other issues, like recovering from a major natural disaster. They live, work, or have a business in parts (or in some cases, all of) locales struck by major disasters.

After Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and President Joe Biden declared these places disaster areas, the Internal Revenue Service followed by extending them federal tax relief.

After Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and President Joe Biden declared these places disaster areas, the Internal Revenue Service followed by extending them federal tax relief.

All of Louisiana given disaster tax relief: Today, Sept. 13, the IRS added all of Louisiana to the disaster relief list with a Feb. 3, 2025, deadline. All Pelican State individual and business taxpayers get that new deadline for various filings and payments, as well as other relief, in the wake of Hurricane Francine.

The relief applies for tax obligations beginning on Sept. 10, the day before actual landfall, but when the state began locking down as Francine approached.

The most immediate tax relief applies to the third estimated tax payment due on Sept. 16. But the Feb. 3, 2025, deadline for all Louisiana taxpayers also applies to —

• The final 2024 tax year quarterly estimated income tax payment normally due on Jan. 15, 2025.
• Any individual, business, or tax-exempt organization that has a valid extension, normally Oct. 15, to file their 2023 federal return. Note, however, that payments on these returns are not eligible for the extra time because they were due last spring before the storm occurred.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31, 2024, and Jan. 31, 2025.

In addition, penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Sept. 10, 2024, and before Sept. 25, 2024, will be abated, as long as the deposits are made by Sept. 25, 2024.

Areas in CT, NY given disaster tax relief: On Sept. 10, the IRS added two more states — Connecticut and New York — to the disaster relief list. Parts of those northeast U.S. states were affected by severe storms, flooding, and land- and mudslides in some parts of Connecticut, from torrential rain that began on Aug. 18.

The tax relief applies to individual and business taxpayers in Suffolk County, New York, and in Fairfield, Litchfield, and New Haven counties in Connecticut. The taxpayers now have until Feb. 3, 2025, to file and pay a variety of taxes.

The most immediate tax relief applies to the third estimated tax payment due on Sept. 16. But the Feb. 3, 2025, deadline for affected CT and NY taxpayers also applies to —

• The final 2024 tax year quarterly estimated income tax payment normally due on Jan. 15, 2025.
• Any individual, business, or tax-exempt organization that has a valid extension, normally Oct. 15, to file their 2023 federal return. Note, however, that payments on these returns are not eligible for the extra time because they were due last spring before the storm occurred.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31, 2024, and Jan. 31, 2025.

In addition, penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 18, 2024, and before Sept. 3, 2024, will be abated, as long as the deposits were made by Sept. 3, 2024.

Long list of disaster-delayed deadlines: The tax relief granted Louisiana today, along with that provide some Empire and Constitution state residents earlier this week, makes it 21 U.S. tax jurisdictions that have extended deadlines due to major disasters.

The deadlines vary depending upon the disaster's timing and locality. Some states also had the misfortune to be hit by multiple disasters at different times this year.

Currently, taxpayers in disaster areas in eight states have a Nov. 1 deadline for their third estimated tax and other filings. They are in Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, New Mexico, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia.

In 14 states and two U.S. territories where disasters struck later in the year, taxpayers now have a Feb. 3, 2025, deadline for assorted tax filings and payments.

These individuals and business owners are in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Vermont.

Double disaster designations: If you’re doing the math, you might have noticed that eight states with a November deadline, 14 with a due date next February, and two territories adds up to 24. But just like weather (good or bad), disaster and tax decisions can change.

Kentucky has residents in the Nov. 1 disaster area, which covers severe storms and twisters on April 2, and next February's deadline for similar severe weather on May 21.

Texas also has residents on both the Nov. 1 and Feb. 3, 2024, declarations, due to severe storms April 26, and Hurricane Beryl's trek across much of south/southeastern part of the Lone Star State.

So even those states have dual disaster designations, they only count once in the tally, bringing the total number of states and territories with one or more FEMA declaration and tax relief (for now; we're in peak hurricane month) to 22.

Also, Floridians in 10 counties were facing a Nov. 1 deadline due to severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes in May. But then Hurricane Debby arrived in August, and all those counties were in her path, too, pushing deadlines to next February.

Check your disaster area: Changes to IRS hurricane tax relief is not unusual. It usually happens when FEMA adds counties or other affected jurisdictions to its earlier disaster declarations. In those cases, the IRS extends its original tax relief to taxpayers in the new areas.

So, if you live in one of the 18 states or two territories with new disaster deadlines, but your locale didn’t make the initial FEMA declaration or subsequent tax relief, check the IRS.gov’s Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page for the latest covered areas. You might be eligible for more time.

You also might find these items of interest:

• Nov. 1 is new tax deadline for disaster-area taxpayers in 8 states
• PA added to Hurricane Debby tax relief list, joining FL, GA, NC, SC & VT  with 2/3/2025 deadline
• 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

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