IRS has announced on its website that victims of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding in additional counties of Texas that are designated as federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance, have more time to make tax payments and file returns. Certain other time-sensitive acts also are postponed. 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 388, that are due to be performed on or after the onset date of the disaster, and on or before the extended date. This relief also includes the filing of Form 5500 series returns, in the way described in Rev Proc 2007-56, Sec. 8. Additionally, the relief described in Rev Proc 2007-56, Sec. 17, relating to like-kind exchanges of property, also applies to certain taxpayers who are not otherwise affected taxpayers and may include acts required to be performed before or after the period above.
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 2019 that are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance, as published on IRS’s website, are listed 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 was 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, Lincoln, 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 was 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 was 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.
Mississippi
The following are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance on account of severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding that took place from Feb. 22 to Mar. 29, 2019: Clay, Humphreys, Issaquena, Lowndes, Monroe, Sharkey, Warren and Yazoo counties.
For these Mississippi counties, the onset date of the disaster was Feb. 22, 2019, and the extended date was July 31, 2019. The deposit delayed date was Mar. 11, 2019.
Missouri
The following are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance on account of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that took place on Apr. 29, 2019: Andrew, Atchison, Boone, Buchanan, Callaway, Carroll, Chariton, Cole, Greene, Holt, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lewis, Lincoln, Livingston, McDonald, Miller, Newton, Osage, Pike, Platte, Pulaski, Saline, and St. Charles counties.
For these Missouri counties, the onset date of the disaster was Apr. 20, 2019, and the extended date was Aug. 30, 2019 (which includes the quarterly estimated income tax payments due on June 17, 2019, as well as the employment and excise tax returns due on Apr. 30 and July 31, 2019. It also includes tax-exempt organizations that operate on a calendar-year basis and had a Form 990 due on May 15, 2019). The deposit delayed date was May 14, 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 was 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 was 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 was 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 was July 15, 2019 (which includes the quarterly estimated income tax payment due on June 17, 2019). The deposit delayed date was Mar. 28, 2019.
Texas
The following are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance on account of Tropical Storm Imelda that took place on Sept. 17, 2019: Chambers, Harris, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery, Orange and San Jacinto counties.
For these parts of Texas, the onset date of the disaster was Sept. 17, 2019, and the extended date is Jan. 31, 2020 (which applies to the quarterly estimated income tax payments due on Jan. 15, 2020; quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31, 2019; tax-exempt organization returns, for organizations operating on a calendar-year basis, that had a valid extension due to run out on Nov. 15, 2019; business income tax returns with extensions, including, among others, calendar-year corporations whose 2018 extensions run out on Oct. 15, 2019).
The deposit delayed date was Oct. 2, 2019. In addition, penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Sept. 17, 2019, and before Oct. 2, 2019, will be abated as long as the deposits were made by Oct. 2, 2019. (IR 2019-164)
Texas
The following are federal disaster areas qualifying for individual assistance on account of severe storms and flooding that took place on June 24-25, 2019: Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy counties.
For these Texas counties, the onset date of the disaster was June 24, 2019, and the extended date is Oct. 31, 2019 (which includes taxpayers who had a valid extension to file their 2018 return due to run out on Oct. 15, 2019, the quarterly estimated income tax payment due on Sept. 16, 2019, and the employment and excise tax returns due on July 31, 2019). The deposit delayed date was July 9, 2019.
To continue your research on postponement of tax deadlines due to disasters, see FTC 2d ¶S-8500; United States Tax Reporter ¶75,08A4.
Subscribe to our Checkpoint Daily Newsstand email to get all the latest tax, accounting, and audit news delivered to your inbox each weekday. It’s free!
