Hurricane Harvey victims in parts of Texas have until Jan. 31, 2018, to file
certain individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments, the
Internal Revenue Service announced today.
This includes an additional filing extension for taxpayers with valid
extensions that run out on Oct. 16, and businesses with extensions that run out
on Sept. 15.
"This has been a devastating storm, and the IRS will move quickly to
provide tax relief to hurricane victims," said IRS Commissioner John
Koskinen. "The IRS will continue to closely monitor the storm's aftermath,
and we anticipate providing additional relief for other affected areas in the
near future."
The IRS is now offering this expanded relief to any area designated by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
as qualifying for individual assistance. Currently, 18 counties are eligible,
but taxpayers in localities added later to the disaster area will automatically
receive the same filing and payment relief.
The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that
occurred starting on Aug. 23, 2017. As a result, affected individuals and
businesses will have until Jan. 31, 2018, to file returns and pay any taxes
that were originally due during this period. This includes the Sept. 15, 2017
and Jan. 16, 2018 deadlines for making quarterly estimated tax payments. For
individual tax filers, it also includes 2016 income tax returns that received a
tax-filing extension until Oct. 16, 2017. The IRS noted, however, that because
tax payments related to these 2016 returns were originally due on April 18,
2017, those payments are not eligible for this relief.
A variety of business tax deadlines are also affected including the Oct. 31
deadline for quarterly payroll and excise tax returns. In addition, the IRS is
waiving late-deposit penalties for federal payroll and excise tax deposits
normally due on or after Aug. 23 and before Sept. 7, if the deposits are made
by Sept. 7, 2017. Details on available relief can be found on the disaster
relief page on IRS.gov.
The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer
with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area. Thus, taxpayers
need not contact the IRS 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 the relief activities who
are affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization.
Individuals and businesses 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 2017 return normally filed next
year), or the return for the prior year (2016). See Publication
547 for details.
Currently, the following Texas counties are eligible for relief: Aransas,
Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Harris,
Jackson, Kleberg, Liberty, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria
and Wharton.
The tax relief is part of a coordinated federal response to the damage
caused by severe storms and flooding and is based on local damage assessments
by FEMA. For information on disaster recovery, visit disasterassistance.gov.
For information on government-wide efforts related to Hurricane Harvey,
please visit: https://www.usa.gov/hurricane-harvey
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