Disaster-affected taxpayers from eight states have tax deadlines coming up in the next week, according to a reminder issued by the IRS on Oct. 23.
The IRS had earlier provided extensions for 2023 returns for certain taxpayers affected by disasters.
On Oct. 23, the agency provided the final deadlines for filing these returns.
“Taxpayers in parts of Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia have until Nov. 1, 2024, to file their 2023 returns,” the agency said in an Oct. 23 statement.
“Taxpayers in the entire states of Louisiana and Vermont, all of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and parts of Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington state have until Feb. 3, 2025, to file.”
For taxpayers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and some parts of Tennessee and Virginia, the deadline for filing 2023 returns is May 1, 2025, which will also be their deadline for filing and paying 2024 taxes.
If individuals or businesses were located in these regions at the time of disasters that occurred in late spring, summer, and early fall this year, they are eligible for the extended deadline.
The extension was applicable to filing returns and not tax payments, since those were due last spring.
Not filing taxes by the due date can attract a “Failure to File” penalty charged at 5 percent of the unpaid taxes for every month a return is late. The maximum penalty is restricted to 25 percent.
Not paying by the deadline attracts a “Failure to Pay” penalty of 0.5 percent of the unpaid taxes per month up to a maximum of 25 percent of the owed taxes.
The disaster filing extensions were granted as part of the IRS’s regular relief measures.
“As long as their address of record is in a disaster-area locality, individual and business taxpayers automatically get the extra time, without having to ask for it,” the agency stated.
Disaster Relief
The IRS recently extended deadlines for several states affected by natural disasters.The extensions were granted to Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 41 counties in Florida, eight counties in Tennessee, and six counties and a city in Virginia.
Two weeks ago, the IRS announced filing and payment extensions for individuals and businesses in parts of Florida after Hurricane Milton hit the region earlier this month.
Taxpayers can deduct the losses attributable to a federally declared disaster in the year the loss is sustained, also known as the disaster year. Filers can also opt to claim the losses when filing an amended tax return for the year immediately preceding the disaster.
In some cases, the financial distress caused by disasters can cause taxpayers to be unable to pay their tax dues in full. In such situations, citizens can opt for an IRS payment plan to pay the tax obligations over a period of time. For individual taxpayers, the IRS offers short-term and long-term payment plans.
The short-term plan is applicable to people with tax obligations of less than $100,000. Taxpayers get an extra 180 days or nearly six months to pay the balance owed in full.
The long-term plan is open for people with tax dues of less than $50,000. Under this plan, individuals have up to 72 months to pay their dues in monthly installments.
“Taxpayers [using a long-term plan] are encouraged to set up plan payments using direct debit (automatic bank withdraw), which eliminates the need to send a payment each month, saves postage costs, and reduces the chance of default,“ the agency stated. ”The IRS requires direct debit for balances between $25,000 and $50,000.”
