Tax News: The IRS Extends Disaster Relief to Victims of January and February Storms

February 27, 2023 – If you were a victim of the severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides in California, or the severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes in Alabama or Georgia, you now have additional time to file various individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments. Details about these recent tax relief provisions can be found here.

The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers who reside or have a business in the covered disaster areas and applies filing and payment relief. This means if you qualify for this relief, you don’t need to request an extension of time to file or an extension of time to pay. Affected individuals will have until October 16, 2023, to file their 2022 individual income tax returns and pay any taxes that are normally due on April 18, 2023. Business taxpayers will also have until October 16, 2023, to file certain business tax returns that are normally due on March 15 and April 18, 2023. The postponement will be granted automatically. However, please note this relief doesn’t apply to all of California, Alabama, and Georgia. Please visit the IRS.gov disaster page to see if you qualify for this automatic postponement and for more details about this disaster relief, including the types of returns and payments that are included.

If you reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area but you were nonetheless affected by these storms, you should call the IRS disaster hotline toll-free at 866-562-5227 to see if you are eligible for this tax relief. You should also call the IRS disaster hotline if you have questions about whether you qualify for this disaster assistance.

If you are an affected taxpayer and you receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original or extended filing, payment or deposit due date that falls within the postponement period, you should call the telephone number on the notice to request that the IRS abate the penalty.