IRS provides tax relief to Minnesota storm victims
The IRS has announced tax relief measures for individuals and businesses in 25 Minnesota counties impacted by severe storms and flooding that began on June 16, 2024.
Affected taxpayers will benefit from extended deadlines for filing returns and making tax payments.
Affected counties and eligibility
Tax relief is available to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The 25 counties currently eligible for relief include:
- Blue Earth
- Carver
- Cass
- Cook
- Cottonwood
- Faribault
- Fillmore
- Freeborn
- Goodhue
- Itasca
- Jackson
- Lake
- Le Sueur
- Mower
- Murray
- Nicollet
- Nobles
- Pipestone
- Rice
- Rock
- St. Louis
- Steele
- Wabasha
- Waseca
- Watonwan
The IRS may extend this relief to additional counties if they are later added to the disaster area.
A complete and updated list of eligible localities is available on the Tax relief in disaster situations page on IRS.gov.
Filing and payment relief
The tax relief measures extend various filing and payment deadlines that originally fell between June 16, 2024, and February 3, 2025.
Affected individuals and businesses now have until February 3, 2025, to submit returns and make payments that were due during this period.
Key deadlines affected by the extension include:
- 2023 federal tax returns for individuals, businesses, and tax-exempt organizations with valid extensions (payments are not included).
- Quarterly estimated income tax payments, originally due on June 17, September 16, 2024, and January 15, 2025.
- Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns, originally due on July 31, October 31, 2024, and January 31, 2025.
The IRS will also abate penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due between June 16, 2024, and July 1, 2024, as long as the deposits were made by July 1, 2024.
Automatic and manual relief procedures
The IRS will automatically apply filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record in the disaster area.
These taxpayers do not need to take any additional steps to qualify for relief.
However, if a taxpayer's address of record is not in the disaster area, but they are still affected (e.g., they moved after filing), they may receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice. In such cases, they should call the number on the notice to request penalty abatement.
Also read – What happens if you file taxes late
Additionally, the IRS will assist taxpayers who live outside the disaster area but have records necessary for meeting deadlines within the affected area. Such taxpayers should contact the IRS at 866-562-5227.
This includes workers aiding in relief efforts and tax preparers assisting clients in the disaster zone.
Additional tax relief options
Taxpayers in the disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed losses can claim these losses on either their 2024 return (filed next year) or their 2023 return (filed this year).
The IRS allows up to six months after the disaster year’s return due date to make this election. For most individual taxpayers, this means by October 15, 2025.
Pro Tip. Make sure to include the FEMA declaration number 4797-DR on the return.
Qualified disaster relief payments
These payments are generally excluded from gross income.
This includes amounts received from a government agency for necessary personal, family, living, or funeral expenses, as well as for home repairs or rehabilitation.
Retirement plan and IRA relief
Affected taxpayers may be eligible for special disaster distributions from retirement plans or IRAs, exempting them from the 10% early distribution tax. Income from these distributions can also be spread over three years.
Eligible taxpayers may also make hardship withdrawals, depending on plan-specific rules.
Future updates and coordination
The IRS is part of a coordinated federal response to the storms, based on FEMA’s damage assessments.
Additional disaster relief may be announced as needed. For the latest information on disaster recovery, visit disasterassistance.gov.