Important tax relief has been issued by the IRS for people and businesses harmed by Hurricane Helene, which hit sections of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, among other U.S. states. Understanding the extended deadlines, tax benefits, and how to take advantage of these relief measures is crucial if you or your busniess were impacted by this natural disaster. These tax relief provisions include extending the deadline for filing federal tax returns and fulfilling tax payment requirements to May 1, 2025, for eligible taxpayers who reside in the designated disaster areas.
Tax Relief by IRS Extended for Those Affected by Hurricane Helene
- In a number of states in the Southeast, the IRS has provided administrative relief for taxpayers impacted by Hurricane Helene. This respite extends until May 1, 2025, the due dates for the majority of income tax returns, payments, and other activities. Starting on September 22 for impacted taxpayers in Alabama, September 23 for Florida, September 24 for Georgia, September 25 for North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, and September 25 for Tennessee.
- With two severe storms in less than two weeks, Americans in the Southeast are still struggling, but the IRS is providing some tax assistance. Moreover, a crucial deadline extension The deadline for submitting corporate taxes is no longer a concern for business owners in the path of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
- In response to Moody’s warning that storm damage could result in losses of up to $55 billion, the federal government is extending the deadline for filing 2023 returns by six and a half months for individuals and businesses in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and portions of Tennessee and Virginia. The cutoff date has been moved to May 1, which is also the deadline for submitting taxes for this year.
Filing and Payment Relief
On October 11, 2024, the IRS announced that 51 Florida counties will receive disaster tax relief. Taxpayers in Florida who are impacted will now have until May 1, 2025, to submit different FTR and pay certain taxes. The aid is largely the same as what was previously declared for Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Debby, with a few significant exceptions. Taxpayers can check if their county is listed by consulting the news release’s list of affected counties. Tax filing and payment deadlines that started on the following dates are postponed by the tax relief:
- September 22 for Alabama
- September 23 for Florida
- September 24 for Georgia
- September 25 for NC, SC, and Virginia
- September for Tennessee
Who qualify for IRS Disaster Tax Relief?
- In Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, the assistance is available to taxpayers who were impacted by Helene throughout the entire states; however, in Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia, it is only available in certain counties or towns.
- Additionally, other regions that might be declared disasters by FEMA as a result of Hurricane Helene will be automatically eligible for this tax break.
Casualty loss deductions are a tax benefit provided by the IRS for any hurricane damage that is not covered by insurance. Business owners can claim a deduction on their individual returns for any damage to their personal property, such their home, household goods, or automobile, once a federal disaster is declared in their area.
Owners of corporations, S corporations, and partnerships may additionally include casualty losses on their returns for any property that generates revenue, such as their office, store, or busniess cars. For Helene and Milton, taxpayers can choose to use the deduction for their 2024 return or, if they filed earlier, retrospectively for their 2023 taxes.
Filing & Penalty Relief
- IRS is reducing penalties for businesses that deposit payroll and excise taxes, taxpayers who do not make payroll and excise tax deposits by the deadline of October 5, 2024, but before October 21, 2024, will not be penalized as long as they do so by that date.
- Their deadlines will be further extended to May 1, 2025, for affected taxpayers who live in covered regions that were previously aided during Tropical Storm Debby but not Helene.
- Relief is also offered for people who are not in the disaster region but depend on records that are in the area so you must get in touch with the IRS if you need support.
Obtaining relief
For any taxpayer with an IRS address in the disaster region, the assistance is immediately granted. The IRS may, however, send a notice for late filing or payment during the delay period if the taxpayer moved to an affected area and their IRS address of record is not in the disaster area. By calling the number on the notice, the taxpayer can get the penalty waived in such a case.
Certain taxpayers who are not in the catastrophe region might also be eligible for assistance, such as relief workers or taxpayers whose records are in the disaster area and need to be filed. For relief, such taxpayers are encouraged to get in touch with the IRS.
Additional Tax Relief Information
Similar to Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene, impacted taxpayers may be eligible for further aid, such as:
- The deduction of uninsured or unpaid losses resulting from disasters,
- The exclusion of any eligible government agency disaster assistance payments from gross income, and
- The 10% early distribution penalty does not apply to extraordinary disaster distributions from retirement plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs); each plan or IRA has its own set of guidelines that members must abide by.
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Juniper Leena is a lawyer and finance graduate. She loves to write articles about the USA economy and social security. In her free time, she enjoys playing chess. She is the head of the writing team at Fort Hunt Herald and reports to Niamh Prescott. She also completed her MBA in finance in 2018.