IRS Offers Tax Relief for Hurricane Ian Victims in Florida, October 17 Deadline, Other Pertinent Dates Moved to February 15
The Internal Revenue Service stated that the deadline for filing different federal individual and business tax forms and making tax payments has been extended to February 15, 2023, for Hurricane Ian victims throughout Florida.
Any location designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency is eligible for assistance from the IRS. This implies that all people and households that live or conduct business within the state of Florida are eligible for tax relief.
The tax relief delays several deadlines for reporting and paying taxes that were set to begin on September 23, 2022. Therefore, impacted persons and entities shall have until February 15, 2023, to file returns and pay any taxes initially due during such period.
As a result, anyone whose legitimate extensions to file their 2021 returns were set to expire on October 17, 2022, will now have until February 15, 2023, to do so. However, the IRS pointed out that since the tax payments for these 2021 forms were due on April 18, 2022, they are not subject to this exemption.
The quarterly projected income tax payments due on January 17, 2023, as well as the payroll and excise tax returns that are typically due on October 31, 2022, and January 31, 2023, are also subject to the deadline of February 15, 2023. The extra time is also available to businesses with original or extended due dates, such as calendar-year organizations whose 2021 extensions expire on October 17, 2022. Similarly, tax-exempt organizations also have an extension that lasts through November 15, 2022, including returns for the 2021 calendar year.
Additionally, if payroll and excise tax deposits are made before October 10, 2022, fines on deposits due on or after September 23, 2022, and before that date will be waived.
Details on other returns, payments, and tax-related actions that qualify for the extended time are available on the Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses page.
Any taxpayer with a recorded IRS address in a catastrophe region is automatically granted filing and penalty relief by the IRS. As a result, taxpayers can obtain this relief without contacting the agency. However, if they receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS with an initial or extended file, payment, or deposit due date that falls within the postponement period, the affected taxpayer should contact the number listed on the notice to have the penalty waived.
The IRS will also work with any taxpayer whose records are in the disaster region but whose records are required to meet a deadline that falls during the postponement period. Call the IRS at 866-562-5227 if you are a taxpayer living outside of a disaster area and you qualify for relief. This also covers employees supporting relief efforts who are connected to a reputable governmental or charitable organization.
Uninsured or unreimbursed catastrophe-related losses may be claimed on either the return for the year the loss happened (in this case, the 2022 return typically filed next year) or the return for the prior year by individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area (2021). Any return alleging a loss must include the FEMA declaration number, DR-4673-FL. For more information, see Publication 547.
The tax relief is based on FEMA's local damage assessments and is a part of a coordinated federal response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian. Visit disasterassistance.gov for details on recovery efforts after a disaster.