Following a letter from the American Institute of CPAs, the Internal Revenue Service announced on Oct. 1 that it would grant disaster tax relief for all individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Helene.
The IRS is offering relief to affected areas, including the entire states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, plus 41 counties in Florida, eight counties in Tennessee, and one city in Virginia.
Individuals and households that reside or have a business in any one of these localities qualify for tax relief. The same relief will be available to other states and localities that receive Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster declarations related to Hurricane Helene.
The current list of eligible localities is available on the IRS website.
According to the IRS website, taxpayers in these areas have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. This includes 2024 individual and business returns normally due during March and April 2025, plus 2023 individual and corporate returns with valid extensions and quarterly estimated tax payments.
This means deadlines are postponed for various filing and payment dates that occurred beginning on:
- 22 in Alabama
- 23 in Florida
- 24 in Georgia
- 25 in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia
- 26 in Tennessee
In these areas, the relief (postponement) period ends on May 1, 2025. As such, affected individuals and businesses have until May 1, 2025, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period.
The Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses page on the IRS website has details on other returns, payments and tax-related actions qualifying for relief during the postponement period.
The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area; the taxpayer does not need to contact the agency to get this relief.
However, there are potential exceptions when postponement is not immediately granted. For instance, if someone moved to the disaster area after filing their return, their return would not show their new address. In this circumstance, along with other unique circumstances, the affected taxpayer may receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS. If this happens, the taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.
Furthermore, 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 call the IRS at 866-562-5227. This also includes workers assisting with relief activities who are affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization.
Individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area 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 2024 return normally filed next year) or the return for the prior year (the 2023 return filed this year). Taxpayers have up to six months after the due date of the taxpayer’s federal income tax return for the disaster year to make the election. Please write the FEMA declaration number on any return claiming a loss.
Qualified disaster relief payments are generally excluded from gross income.
Additional relief may be available to affected taxpayers who participate in a retirement plan or individual retirement arrangement (IRA). Each plan or IRA has specific rules and guidance for its participants to follow.
