IRS Extends Filing Deadline For Victims Of Natural Disasters

In an effort to provide relief to those impacted by natural disasters last summer, the IRS has announced that taxpayers who submitted extensions to file their income tax returns by April 18 now have until October 31 to file their tax returns if they were affected by Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee (New York and Pennsylvania), or the Texas wildfires.  The postponed deadline and IRS e-filing access through October 31 is only for those taxpayers who were impacted by these disasters and e-File and Free File will remain available to accept their returns through the end of the month.  For everyone else, the extension deadline remains October 17, October 15 is a Saturday, and the IRS has posted a video on their YouTube page reminding taxpayers about this impending deadline.

It is also important to note that an extension to file is not an extension to pay taxes.  Taxpayers who owed federal taxes should pay at least 90 percent of their balance due to avoid late-payment penalties.  Taxpayers receiving a refund are under no obligation to pay and will not incur a penalty.

The IRS is no stranger to disaster relief.  Special tax law provisions may help taxpayers and businesses recover financially from the impact of a disaster, especially when the federal government declares their location to be a major disaster area.  Besides granting additional time to file returns and pay taxes, individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area may be able to receive a faster refund by claiming losses related to the disaster on their tax return for the previous year, usually by filing an amended return.  More information about tax obligations during and after a disaster can be found on the IRS Website.

Of course, if you have questions about you tax filing obligations, or any other tax issue, you can always contact an Attorney in Jacksonville who can help you today.