The Los Angeles Post

IRS reminder to storm victims in 4 states: File and pay by July 31; parts of Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi and Tennessee affected

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IR-2023-128, July 17, 2023, WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded individuals and businesses in parts of four states that their 2022 federal income tax returns and tax payments are due on Monday, July 31, 2023.

 

The IRS normally provides relief, including postponing various tax filing and payment deadlines, for any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As long as their address of record is in a disaster-area locality, individual and business taxpayers automatically get the extra time, without having to ask for it.

 

What areas qualify for the July 31 deadline?

The July 31 deadline applies to taxpayers affected by four different disaster declarations for incidents occurring during late March and early April of this year. These include:

 

  • Three counties in Arkansas due to severe storms and tornadoes on March 31. The disaster area includes Cross, Lonoke and Pulaski counties.
  • Thirteen counties in Indiana due to severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes on March 31 and April 1. The disaster area includes Allen, Benton, Brown, Clinton, Grant, Howard, Johnson, Lake, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Sullivan and White counties.
  • Seven counties in Mississippi due to severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes on March 24 and 25. The disaster area includes Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, Montgomery, Panola, Sharkey and Washington counties.
  • Thirteen counties in Tennessee due to severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes on March 31 and April 1. The disaster area includes Cannon, Giles, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Johnson, Lewis, Macon, McNairy, Morgan, Rutherford, Tipton and Wayne counties.

 

The current list of eligible localities is always available on the disaster relief page on IRS.gov.

 

What returns and payments qualify for the July 31 deadline?

Eligible returns and payments include:

 

  • 2022 individual income tax returns and payments normally due on April 18.
  • For eligible taxpayers, 2022 contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts.
  • Quarterly estimated tax payments normally due on April 18 and June 15.
  • Calendar-year 2022 corporate and fiduciary income tax returns and payments normally due on April 18.
  • Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on May 1.
  • Calendar-year 2022 returns filed by tax-exempt organizations normally due on May 15.

 

Other returns, payments and time-sensitive tax-related actions also qualify for the extra time. See the IRS disaster relief page for details.

 

Further extensions available

Affected individual taxpayers who need more time to file beyond the July 31 deadline must file their extension requests on paper using Form 4868. That’s because e-file options for requesting an extension are not available after April 18.

 

By filing this form, disaster-area taxpayers will have until Oct. 16 to file, though tax payments are still due by July 31. Visit IRS.gov/extensions for details.

 

Other relief

The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area. Therefore, taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to get this relief. However, if an affected taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original or extended filing, payment or deposit due date falling within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.

 

In addition, the IRS will work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but whose records necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period are located in the affected area. Taxpayers qualifying for relief who live outside the disaster area need to contact the IRS at 866-562-5227. This also includes workers assisting with relief activities who are affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization.

 

Individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the return for the year the loss occurred (in this instance, the 2023 return normally filed in early 2024), or the return for the prior year (that is, the 2022 return normally filed in 2023). See Publication 547 for details.

 

Reminder for those in four other states

Disaster-area taxpayers in four other states face deadlines later this year. Most have until Oct. 16 and the rest until Aug. 15.

 

Aug. 15

  • Broward County in Florida due to severe storms, tornadoes and flooding from April 12 to 14.
  • Modoc and Shasta counties in California due to severe winter storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides starting on Feb. 21.

 

Oct. 16

  • Thirteen counties in Alabama due to severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes starting on Jan. 12. The disaster area includes Autauga, Barbour, Chambers, Conecuh, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, Greene, Hale, Mobile, Morgan, Sumter and Tallapoosa counties.
  • Fifty-five of California’s 58 counties—all except Lassen, Modoc and Shasta counties. IRS relief is based on three different FEMA disaster declarations covering various jurisdictions and event time frames.
  • Nine counties in Georgia due to severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes beginning on Jan. 12. The disaster area includes Butts, Crisp, Henry, Jasper, Meriwether, Newton, Pike, Spalding and Troup counties.

 

The tax relief is part of a coordinated federal response to the damage caused by these storms and is based on local damage assessments by FEMA. For information on disaster recovery, visit disasterassistance.gov.