Victims of recent severe storms and flooding in numerous states have more time to make tax payments and file returns if they are affected taxpayers in counties that have been designated as federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance.
Certain other time-sensitive acts also are postponed. IRS has recently announced on its website that an additional county in Ohio has been designated as federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance. This article summarizes the relief that’s available and includes up-to-date disaster area designations and extended filing and deposit dates for all areas affected by storms, floods and other disasters in 2019.
Who gets relief.
Only taxpayers considered to be affected taxpayers are eligible for the postponement of time to file returns, pay taxes and perform other time-sensitive acts. Affected taxpayers are those listed in Reg § 301.7508A-1(d)(1) and thus include:
… any individual whose principal residence, and any business entity whose principal place of business, is located in the counties designated as disaster areas;
… any individual who is a relief worker assisting in a covered disaster area, regardless of whether he is affiliated with recognized government or philanthropic organizations;
… any individual whose principal residence, and any business entity whose principal place of business, is not located in a covered disaster area, but whose records necessary to meet a filing or payment deadline are maintained in a covered disaster area;
… any estate or trust that has tax records necessary to meet a filing or payment deadline in a covered disaster area; and
… any spouse of an affected taxpayer, solely with regard to a joint return of the husband and wife.
What may be postponed.
Under Code Sec. 7508A, IRS gives affected taxpayers until the extended date (specified by county, below) to file most tax returns (including individual, estate, trust, partnership, C corporation, and S corporation income tax returns; estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns; and employment and certain excise tax returns), or to make tax payments, including estimated tax payments, that have either an original or extended due date falling on or after the onset date of the disaster (specified by county, below), and on or before the extended date. IRS also gives affected taxpayers until the extended date to perform other time-sensitive actions described in Reg § 301.7508A-1(c)(1) and Rev Proc 2007-56, 2007-34 IRB 388Rev Proc 2007-56, Sec. 8. Additionally, the relief described in Rev Proc 2007-56, Sec. 17.
The postponement of time to file and pay does not apply to information returns in the W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 series, or to Forms 1042-S or 8027. Penalties for failure to timely file information returns can be waived under existing procedures for reasonable cause. Likewise, the postponement does not apply to employment and excise tax deposits. IRS, however, will abate penalties for failure to make timely employment and excise deposits, due on or after the onset date of the disaster, and on or before the deposit delayed date (specified by county, below), provided the taxpayer made these deposits by the deposit delayed date.
Affected areas and dates for storms, floods and other disasters occurring in 2018 and later that are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance, as published on IRS’s website, are carried below.
Alabama:
The following is a federal disaster area qualifying for individual assistance on account of severe storms, tornadoes, and straight-line winds that took place beginning on Mar. 3, 2019: Lee county.
For this Alabama county, the onset date of the disaster was Mar. 3, 2019, and the extended date is July 31, 2019 (which includes the 2018 individual income tax returns and payments normally due on Apr. 15, 2019 and the quarterly estimated income tax payments due on Apr. 15, 2019 and June 17, 2019; and eligible taxpayers will also have until July 31, 2019 to make 2018 IRA contributions). The deposit delayed date was Mar. 18, 2019. (IR 2019-31)
Arkansas:
The following are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance on account of severe storms and flooding that took place on May 21, 2019: Arkansas, Conway, Crawford, Desha, Faulkner, Jefferson, Logan, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Sebastian, and Yell counties counties.
For these Arkansas counties, the onset date of the disaster was May 21, 2019 and the extended date is Sept. 30, 2019 (which includes the quarterly estimated income tax payment due on June 17, 2019, as well as the employment and excise tax returns due on July 31, 2019). The deposit delayed date was June 5, 2019.
Iowa:
The following are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance on account of the severe storms and flooding that took place on Mar. 12, 2019: Fremont, Harrison, Louisa, Mills, Monona, Pottawattamie, Scott, Shelby, and Woodbury counties.
For these Iowa counties, the onset date of the disaster was Mar. 12, 2019, and the extended date is July 31, 2019 (which includes the 2018 individual income tax returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2019 and the quarterly estimated income tax payments due on April 15, 2019 and June 17, 2019; and eligible taxpayers will have until July 31, 2019 to make 2018 IRA contributions). The deposit delayed date was Mar. 27, 2019.
Nebraska:
The following are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance on account of the severe winter storm, straight-line winds, and flooding that took place on Mar. 9, 2019: Antelope, Boone, Boyd, Buffalo, Butler, Burt, Cass, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dodge, Douglas, Hall, Holt, Howard, Knox, Madison, Nance, Nemaha, Oklahoma, Pierce, Platte, Richardson, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Stanton, Thurston, and Washington counties, and the Santee Sioux Nation.
For these Nebraska counties, the onset date of the disaster was Mar. 9, 2019, and the extended date is July 31, 2019 (which includes the 2018 individual income tax returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2019 and the quarterly estimated income tax payments due on April 15, 2019 and June 17, 2019; and eligible taxpayers will have until July 31, 2019 to make 2018 IRA contributions). The deposit delayed date was Mar. 25, 2019.
Ohio:
The following are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance on account of severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding, and landslides that took place on May 27, 2019: Auglaize, Darke, Greene, Hocking, Mercer, Mahoning, Miami, Montgomery, Muskingum, Perry, and Pickaway counties.
For these Ohio counties, the onset date of the disaster was May 27, 2019, and the extended date is Sept. 30, 2019 (which includes the quarterly estimated income tax payments due on June 17 and Sept. 16, 2019, as well as the employment and excise tax returns due on July 31, 2019). The deposit delayed date was June 11, 2019.
Oklahoma:
The following are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance on account of severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding that took place on May 7, 2019: Alfalfa, Canadian, Cherokee, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Garfield, Kay, Kingfisher, Le Flore, Logan, Mayes, Muskogee, Noble, Nowata, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Payne, Pottawatomie, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner, Washington and Woods counties.
For these Oklahoma counties, the onset date of the disaster was May 7, 2019, and the extended date is Sept. 16, 2019 (which includes the quarterly estimated income tax payment due on June 17, 2019, as well as the employment and excise tax returns due on July 31, 2019). The deposit delayed date was May 22, 2019.
South Dakota:
The following are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance on account of severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding that began on Mar. 13, 2019: Bennett, Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Dewey, Hutchinson, Jackson, Mellette, Minnehaha, Oglala Lakota, Todd, Turner, Yankton, Ziebach Counties, the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, the Pine Ridge Reservation, and the Rosebud Reservation.
For these South Dakota counties, the onset date of the disaster was Mar. 13, 2019, and the extended date is July 15, 2019 (which includes the quarterly estimated income tax payment due on June 17, 2019). The deposit delayed date was Mar. 28, 2019.
