The IRS granted relief to taxpayers affected by the numerous hurricanes, fires, and other disasters in the US and Israel during 2024, offering additional time to file some 2023 and 2024 tax returns (and other reports) and, for some types of tax payments, to pay the estimated or actual taxes due.

Which disasters are covered by IRS relief provisions?

The IRS issued wave after wave of relief measures in 2024, in response to numerous federally declared disasters, including the recent tropical storms and hurricanes that made landfall in Texas and Florida (and continued their path through the United States), such as Hurricane Milton (October 2024), Hurricane Helene (September 2024), Tropical Storm Francine (September 2024), Hurricane Debby (August 2024), and Hurricane Beryl (July 2024). Other types of disasters were also addressed including the West Coast floods and fires, Alaskan disasters, and terrorist attacks centered in Isreal, Gaza, and the West Bank.

What types of relief were offered?

In most cases, the relief consisted of:

  • Additional time to file any 2023 tax returns that were due during specific time periods (or had valid extensions, with the extended due date during that time period)
  • Additional time to file 2024 tax returns and certain other 2024 filings
  • Additional time to pay some 2024 estimated tax payments, quarterly payments, or other tax payments

The relief did not apply to:

  • 2023 tax payments that were due prior to the disaster period (even if an extension had been granted to file the tax return)

In addition, other relief has been provided (as explained below) for reports other than tax returns, including:

Who generally qualifies for relief? How do you prevent penalties for utilizing the postponement periods?

Those qualifying for relief include individuals and businesses, including:

  • Taxpayers whose address of record is in a federally declared disaster area – in these cases, you qualify for automatic relief without needing to call any agency.
  • Taxpayers who are located in a disaster area but their address of record is not – in these cases, you should call the number on the notice to have penalty abated.
  • Taxpayers who are located outside disaster area but whose records located within disaster area – you should contact the IRS at 866-562-5227.
  • Relief workers not residing in a disaster area – you may qualify for postponement if you are affiliated with recognized government or philanthropic organizations.
  • Disaster area tax preparers with clients located outside the disaster area may also choose to use bulk requests from practitioners for disaster relief.

Summary of new deadlines for IRS filings and payments

For 2023 individual and business tax returns, the IRS extended the filing deadline (but not the deadline to pay 2023 taxes still outstanding) until:

  • November 1, 2024, for parts of Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia
  • February 3, 2025, for all of Louisiana, Vermont, Puerto Rico, and the Virgina Islands, as well as parts of Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington state
  • May 1, 2025, for all of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and parts of Tennessee and Virginia
  • September 30, 2025, for individuals that live or have a business in Isreal, Gaza, or the West Bank and are affected by terrorist attacks in the State of Isreal

For 2024 individual and business tax returns, the IRS extended the filing deadline and payment of tax due until:

  • May 1, 2025, for all of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and parts of Tennessee and Virginia
  • September 30, 2025, for individuals that live or have a business in Isreal, Gaza, or the West Bank and are affected by terrorist attacks in the State of Isreal

For 2024 quarterly estimated tax payments (normally due September 15), the IRS extended the payment deadline until:

  • February 3, 2025, for all of Louisiana, Vermont, Puerto Rico, and the Virgina Islands, as well as parts of Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington state

For 2024 quarterly estimated tax payments (normally due January 15 & April 15), the IRS extended the payment deadline until:

  • May 1, 2025, for all of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and parts of Tennessee and Virginia

 The IRS also offered the following additional relief:

  • In federally declared disaster areas, uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can be claimed in either the year of loss or the year of occurrence.
  • Qualified disaster relief payments are generally excluded from gross income. Some examples of these types of payments are government agency funds for necessary personal, family, living, or funeral expenses; funds for home repair or rehabilitation; and expenses related to replacing home contents.
  • Retirement and IRA plan participants may be eligible for special disaster distributions without being subjected to the usual 10% early withdrawal penalty and may be allowed to spread the income recognition over three tax years. It may also be possible to make a hardship withdrawal from some plans.

The US Treasury is also offering disaster relief for FBAR filings and the new BOI reporting.

Certain forms, such as FBARs and Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) forms, are not filed with the IRS but instead are filed with a different division of the US Treasury, called the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Although FinCEN does not automatically apply relief where the IRS has granted filing relief, FinCEN has extended the deadline for 2023 and 2024 FBAR filings for filers affected by some federally declared disasters, including:

  • Hurricanes Milton & Helene – 2023 calendar year FBARs are now due by May 1, 2025
  • Hurricanes Debby & Beryl and Tropical Storm Francine – 2023 calendar year FBARs are now due by February 3, 2025
  • Terrorist Attacks in Isreal Throughout 2023 & 2024 – 2023 calendar year FBARs are now due by September 30, 2025

FinCEN has announced that if the IRS later designates other areas for relief, it will apply eligibility for postponement of FBAR automatically to those additional areas.

FinCEN has also extended the deadline for BOI filings by six months, per notice dated October 29, 2024, for the following filers impacted by Hurricane Milton, Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Debby, Hurricane Beryl, and Hurricane Francine:

  • Filers whose deadline for the reporting company to file its initial or updated BOI falls on or between September 22, 2024, and December 21, 2024

Note: The reporting company must meet the same general qualifications as those set by the IRS for location or relationship to the disaster area (see above), including having its principal place of business or having the books and records located in a federally designated disaster area.

What does The Wolf Group recommend?

We recommend checking back frequently for updates from the IRS and FinCEN regarding postponements for areas impacted by disaster. The IRS maintains helpful resources that can be sorted by state and tax year for your convenience.

At The Wolf Group, we are monitoring these developments. If you have any questions regarding postponements for both IRS compliance and FinCEN reporting, please contact us.