IRS Provides Tax Relief to Hurricane Debby Victims in 4 States
The relief order applies to all of South Carolina, most of Florida and North Carolina, and part of Georgia.
The Internal Revenue Service said Friday that it was providing tax relief for individuals and businesses in four states affected by Hurricane Debby. The relief order applies to all of South Carolina, most of Florida and North Carolina, and part of Georgia.
The taxpayers have until Feb. 3 to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. The same relief will be available to any other counties added later to the disaster area.
Filing and Payment Relief
The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines set to begin Aug. 1 in Florida, Aug. 4 in Georgia and South Carolina, and Aug. 5 in North Carolina.
The Feb. 3 deadline, the IRS said, will now apply to:
- Any individual, business or tax-exempt organization that has a valid extension to file their 2023 federal return; payments on these returns are not eligible for the extra time because they were due last spring before the hurricane occurred.
- Quarterly estimated income tax payments normally due on Sept. 16 and Jan. 15.
- Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due Oct. 31 and Jan. 31.
In Florida, the penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 1 and before Aug. 16 will be abated, as long as the deposits are made by Aug. 16.
Likewise, in South Carolina and Georgia, penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 4 and before Aug. 19 will be abated, as long as the deposits are made by Aug. 19.
In North Carolina, penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 5 and before Aug. 20 will also be abated, as long as the deposits are made by Aug. 20.
More Reporting Details
It’s possible that affected taxpayers may not have an IRS address of record located in the disaster area, for example, because they moved to the disaster area after filing prior returns.
“In these unique circumstances, the affected taxpayer could receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS for the postponement period,” the IRS said.
The taxpayer should call the number on IRS Notice 2024-205 to have the penalty abated.
The IRS said it will also 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.
Disaster-area tax preparers with clients located outside the disaster area can choose to use the Bulk Requests from Practitioners for Disaster Relief option on IRS.gov.
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