After 3 hurricanes, IRS grants tax relief to all Florida taxpayers
Friday, October 11, 2024
The deadly and destructive aftermath of Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, prompted the Internal Revenue Service to designate a new statewide federal tax deadline of May 1, 2025, for various tax filings and payments.
After Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend on August 5, the state got a brief respite. That changed late Sept. 26 when the same area was the target for Hurricane Helene.
Helene’s doubling down prompted the Internal Revenue Service to extend the earlier-issued Debby deadline for various tax obligations from Feb. 3, 2025, to May 1, 2025.
Then, just 13 days later, Hurricane Milton came ashore further south on the Florida Gulf Coast. The huge storm wreaked havoc through much of the rest of the state, including the spawning of tornadoes on the other side of the peninsula, even before its official Oct. 9 landfall.
We all got the message, Mother Nature. The Sunshine State is overwhelmed.
That’s why today, the IRS announced additional tax relief that effectively means all Florida taxpayers now have a May 1, 2025, deadline for filing and making payments in a variety of tax situations.
More counties officially added: Specifically, the IRS added individuals and businesses in 51 Florida counties to the list of those with the deadline next May.
Also, taxpayers in six counties that previously did not qualify for relief under either Hurricane Debby or Hurricane Helene will receive disaster tax relief beginning Oct. 5, 2024, and concluding on May 1, 2025. They are Broward, Indian River, Martin, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties.
In addition, individuals and businesses in 20 counties that previously were granted tax relief under Debby, but not Helene, will receive disaster tax relief under Hurricane Milton, from Aug. 1, 2024, thru May 1, 2025. They are Baker, Brevard, Clay, DeSoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lake, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, and Volusia counties.
Affected tax tasks: As a result, notes the IRS, all Florida taxpayers now have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. This new deadline applies to —
- Any individual or business that has a 2024 return normally due during March or April 2025.
- Any individual, C corporation or tax-exempt organization that has a valid extension to file their calendar-year 2023 federal return. The IRS noted, however, that payments on these returns are not eligible for the extra time because they were due last spring before the hurricane occurred.
- 2024 quarterly estimated tax payments normally due on Jan. 15, 2025, and 2025 estimated tax payments normally due on April 15, 2025.
- Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31, 2024, Jan. 31, 2025, and April 30, 2025.
In addition, the IRS says penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Oct. 5, 2024, and before Oct. 21, 2024, will be abated as long as the tax deposits are made by Oct. 21, 2024.
Florida counties eligible for this payroll and excise tax relief are Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putman, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, and Volusia.
For more on the prior individual and business tax relief provided to taxpayers affected by Debby and Helene, check out the Florida section of the IRS.gov Around the Nation page. You also can review my earlier posts on tax relief for Hurricanes Debby and Helene, as well as the IRS’ disaster assistance and emergency relief for individuals and businesses page.
Deducting uninsured disaster losses: When disaster-affected taxpayers do get their lives back in some order and start thinking about taxes, the IRS reminds them that they may be able to deduct some disaster losses. This itemized claim is available for damaged or destroyed property not covered by insurance or other reimbursement.
Claiming the loss can result in a larger refund, particularly if you maximize it by choosing the tax year in which to make the claim. When it comes to disaster casualty losses, taxpayers can choose to claim it on either the return for the year the loss occurred — in this instance, the 2024 return normally filed next year — or on the return for the prior year, which is the 2023 return filed this year.
Making the decision is not one to be taken lightly. You need to run the numbers for each potential tax year filing to see which produces the more favorable tax result. But there’s no hurry. For individual taxpayers, the deadline for making this disaster loss tax year choice is Oct. 15, 2025.
My post on considerations in making a major disaster tax claim has more. So does IRS Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts.
Other IRS resources for taxpayers who are in major disaster areas include FAQs for disaster victims, Publication 584, Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook (Personal-Use Property) and its business companion Publication 584-B, Business Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook.
Taxpayers with disaster-related tax questions also can call the agency’s toll-free disaster hotline at (866) 562-5227. And, of course, you can talk with a tax professional for help in making this decision and filing.
Free tax documents available: If you need your prior tax records to help you decide when to claim a disaster loss, or for any other reason, such as getting disaster assistance, and the documents were lost or destroyed in the storm(s), the IRS can help.
You can get a free transcript of your returns from the IRS. You can get the information immediately by using IRS.gov’s Get Transcript. Or you can use Get Transcript to request the transcripts be mailed to you. You also can call toll-free (800) 908-9946 to request mail delivery or submit Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return.
Disaster victims also can get a free copy of your full tax return by filing Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return. The IRS waives the usual fees and expedites requests for copies of returns for people who need them to apply for disaster-related benefits or to file amended returns claiming disaster-related losses. To speed processing, be sure to notate that this is a disaster-related request and list the state and type of event on the request.
That notation to put on your disaster-related requests and filings should include the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declaration number. For Florida taxpayers affected by the three recent hurricanes, those are DR-4806-FL for Debby, DR-4828-FL for Helene, and EM-3622-FL for Milton.
You also might find these items of interest:
- Resources to help deal with major natural disasters
- Oct. 15 tax filing extension deadline extended for disaster area, and other, taxpayers
- Storm Warnings: Preparing for, recovering from, and helping those affected by natural disasters
Advertisements
🌟 Explore Prime for Young Adults 🌟
The text link above is an affiliate ad. If you click through and then buy a product, I receive a commission.
Comments