Tax Man Cuts Break for Irma Impacted

The Internal Revenue Service is giving people who got through Irma a little less to stress over.

According to an IRS release, Hurricane Irma victims in parts of Florida and elsewhere have until Jan. 31, 2018, to file certain individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments.

The relief parallels that granted last month to victims of Hurricane Harvey. 

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.

The IRS says it is offering this relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as qualifying for individual assistance. 

Parts of Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are currently eligible, but taxpayers in localities added later to the disaster area, including those in other states, will automatically receive the same filing and payment relief. 

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

The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on Sept. 4 in Florida and Sept. 5 in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

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 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 of this year. 

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 during the first 15 days of the disaster period.

The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area. 

For information on government-wide efforts related to Hurricane Irma, visit www.USA.gov/hurricane-irma.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content

Â