The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced tax relief for Mississippi residents and businesses impacted by the recent tornadoes and severe storms.
The tax relief extends the deadline for filing various federal individual and business tax returns—and making tax payments—until July 31, 2023, the IRS said in a press release.
“The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a result of tornadoes and severe storms that occurred on March 24 and 25,” the agency said.
Individuals and households residing or having a business in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, and Sharkey counties will qualify for the relief, with other areas added later to the disaster area also qualifying for the relief.
Taxpayers who live outside the disaster area but have records required to meet the deadline located in the affected area can work with the IRS to get relief. Such taxpayers need to contact the IRS at 866-562-5227. This also applies to workers affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization assisting in relief activities.
An estimated 55,000 people live in the four counties covered by the IRS’s action, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Relief Details
The relief will postpone various tax filing and payment deadlines, including 2022 individual income tax returns and various business returns due on April 18.“Among other things, this means that eligible taxpayers will have until July 31 to make 2022 contributions to their IRAs and health savings accounts,” the agency said.
The July 31 deadline also applies to the quarterly estimated tax payments, which are normally due on April 18 and June 15, the IRS said. The extended deadline also applies to quarterly payroll and excise tax returns, which are normally due on April 30.
Penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits will be abated if the tax deposits are made by April 10, 2023.
Affected taxpayers who need more time to file beyond the July 31 deadline are urged to request the additional time electronically before the original April 18 deadline.
Tornado Impacts
The powerful twister, which rolled for 70 minutes on the ground as it traveled east 59 miles on Friday night through parts of Mississippi was classified as an EF-4 tornado, according to the preliminary report by the National Weather Service.Winds for an EF-4 tornado can reach between 166 to 200 miles per hour.
Some 26 people were killed in the tornado, which ripped through the town of Rolling Fork, destroying many of the community’s 400 homes and leaving a trail of devastation in its path.
“A disaster of this magnitude in a town this small and everything close together, people here are still in shock,” said Brad Bradford, a spokesman for the emergency management agency in Sharkey County.
Bradford said that crews were working on Monday morning to restore the town’s 911 service and electricity.
Around two-fifths of the county’s 1,900 homes and businesses were without power on Monday morning, according to Poweroutage.us.
Officials were also organizing volunteer clean-up crews, the flow of donated supplies such as water, and directing families to FEMA and Red Cross resources.
President Joe Biden on Saturday ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the affected areas. The funding will be available to affected people in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, and Sharkey counties.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said Monday that counties covered by the emergency declaration can seek help from FEMA to jumpstart the rebuilding and recovery process.
“It’s going to be a long road to recover for them,” Criswell told MSNBC after traveling to the region on Sunday.
Asked about improving alert systems, Criswell said warning systems always need to be reviewed and noted that more frequent and intense storms are coming more quickly.
“We really need to work on how we’re getting the message out early about what the potential threat is,” she told the outlet.
