IRS – Federal Disaster Relief Announcements
First and foremost, our prayers and thoughts are extended to all those who have been so painfully impacted by Hurricane Helene this past week.
Due to the devastation of the storm on individuals and business there have been disaster declarations for multiple states.
As part of a National Disaster the federal government as well as some states provide relief from certain tax filing requirements and extend filing deadlines.
The following are links to the IRS announcements for each state in the SE region. It should be noted that some states in their entirety may meet the Federal Disaster relief while others (FL and TN for example) list specific counties in said state that are granted relief. So please do review the IRS announcement’s details:
There is key information in these announcements also regarding payroll tax filings, estimated tax filings and related payments.
Unfortunately, the IRS computer system will likely generate penalty notices, and they are aware of this so if you are qualified for penalty relief per the announcements guidelines, then they will waive those penalties and have them abated. It just may take some time.
(IMPORTANT- The IRS noted, however, that because tax payments related to these 2023 returns were due on April 15, 2024, those payments are not eligible for this relief. THUS, IF YOUR 2023 RETURN HAS A BALANCE DUE THEN YOU SHOULD STILL PAY THE TAX AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.)
If you internally file State level sales tax, payroll tax and other similar tax filings and payments we recommend you also contact your state tax agency for any state disaster relief guidelines. Our Client Accounting Services Team will also be reaching out to state agencies for those clients we assist that may be in these disaster areas.
Our internal protocol will be to continue to process client’s tax information and assist them with tax planning options with a focus on the October 15th standard deadline while keeping these revised Disaster Relief filing guidelines in mind. As your CPA firm of advisors, we are here to assist you as we work through the Disaster Relief guidelines.
Again, our prayers and thoughts for those impacted beyond what many of us encountered.
