Don't Mess With Taxes

North Carolina filers originally facing next month's filing deadline now have until Sept. 25 to complete their tax obligations.

Hurricane Helene was responsible for extreme flooding last September in Burke County, North Carolina. Taxpayers in the Tar Heel State were among those granted more time by the Internal Revenue Service to file their 2024 tax returns and pay any due tax. (Photo by NCDOTcommunications, CC BY 2.0)

Hurricane season 2025 has yet to start, but the effects from last year’s major Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico storms is still being felt by many across the southern and southeastern part of the country.

Those and other severe storm damages are why taxpayers in eight states didn’t have to file their returns on April 15.

However, their new Tax Day is on the horizon. They have until May 1, which also is this weekend’s By the Numbers figure, to file and pay a variety of taxes, including their 2024 tax returns.

The May 1, 2025, disaster-delayed deadline applies to taxpayers, both individuals and those who own businesses, in the following eight states.

• The entire states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, where residents and sustained damages from last year's Hurricanes Helene and/or Milton;
• The City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, which was damaged due to severe flooding last August;
• Residents of Chaves County, New Mexico, where severe storms and flooding last October wreaked havoc;
• Tennessee taxpayers who sustained damages from last year's Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties;
• Virginia taxpayers who sustained Hurricane Helene damages in Albemarle, Appomattox, Bedford, Bland, and Botetourt counties; Bristol City; Buchanan, Buckingham, Carroll, and Charlotte counties; Covington City; Craig County; Danville City; Dickenson and Floyd counties; Galax City; Giles, Grayson, Greene, Lee, Madison, Montgomery, and Nelson counties; Norton City; Patrick, Pittsylvania, and Pulaski counties; Radford City; Roanoke City; Roanoke, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe counties

Added tax-filing extension time available: If taxpayers facing the May 1 deadline find they cannot meet it, they can file for an extension to get the usual Oct. 15 deadline extension for their 2024 returns.

By sending to sending the IRS Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, they get the six extra months to file.

But the extension is only to submit the forms. They still must pay any tax due by their postponed May 1 deadline.

And the filing extension request must be done by filing a paper Form 4868. Extensions requests made after the regular April 15 due date cannot be filed electronically.

More delayed due dates this fall: Tar Heel State taxpayers who were hard hit during last year’s hurricane season might be wondering what happened to their May 1 deadline. On April 24, the IRS has pushed the due date for all North Carolina individual and business taxpayers to Sept. 25, 2025, due to the lingering effects of Hurricane Helene.

In addition, individuals and businesses in five other states don’t have to worry about getting their 2024 returns and payments to the IRS until even later this fall. The dates and states are —

• Oct. 15, 2025, for Los Angeles County, California, taxpayers affected by the January wildfires; and
• Nov. 3, 2025, for all taxpayers in Arkansas (severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that began on April 2) Kentucky (severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, and landslides that began on Feb. 14), and Tennessee (severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding that began on April 2), as well as West Virginia taxpayers in Boone, Greenbrier, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne, and Wyoming counties (severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, and land- and mudslides that began on Feb. 15).

Special relief for terrorist attacks in Israel: Finally, taxpayers who live or have a business in Israel, Gaza, or the West Bank, and certain other taxpayers affected by the terrorist attacks in the State of Israel have until Sept. 30, 2025, to file and pay.

This includes most returns and taxes due from Oct. 7, 2023, through Sept. 30, 2025, including Form 1040 and 1120 series returns.

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 best 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 or on the return for the prior year.

For some of the taxpayers affected by disaster-delayed deadlines cited in this post, the will mean deciding whether to claim any allowable losses on their 2024 return by their new, later filing deadline. Others might determine it is more tax advantageous to wait and claim losses sustained in 2025 on that return they file next year.

Also note that because of special disaster area considerations, taxpayers also have even more extra time — up to six months after the due date of the taxpayer’s federal income tax return for the disaster year (without regard to any extension of time to file) — to decide which in which tax year claim.

Regardless of when you make the claim, arriving at 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.

My post on considerations in making a major disaster tax claim has more. So does IRS Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts.

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 any disaster-related, or other, loss claims and filing decisions.

You also might find these items of interest:

• Early April major disasters in AR & TN push Tax Day to Nov. 3
• 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

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