IRS offers disaster relief in Maine, Massachusetts, Louisiana

 

The IRS has expanded administrative relief to victims of Hurricane Lee in Maine and Massachusetts and to seawater intrusion victims in Louisiana. The IRS has extended the deadlines for most income tax returns, income tax payments and other time-sensitive actions for taxpayers in the designated counties in the three states.

 

The relief applies to deadlines that fall on or after Sept. 15, 2023, and before Feb. 15, 2024, for Maine and Massachusetts victims, and to deadlines that fall on or after Sept. 20, 2023, and before Feb. 15, 2024, for Louisiana victims. The deadlines in all cases are postponed until Feb. 15. The extended deadlines apply to all time-sensitive actions listed in Section 7508A, Treas. Reg. Sec. 301.7508A-1(c)(1) and Rev. Proc. 2018-58. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Individual extended tax returns due Oct. 16
  • Corporate extended returns due on Oct. 16
  • Tax-exempt extended returns due Nov. 15
  • Quarterly estimated income tax payments due on Sept. 15 and Jan. 16
  • Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31 and Jan. 31

The IRS will also waive failure-to-deposit penalties for Maine and Massachusetts victims for federal payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Sept. 15, 2023, and before Oct. 2, provided the deposits were made by Oct. 2. Those dates are Sept. 20 and Oct. 5 for Louisiana victims.

 

The IRS relief applies to taxpayers who reside in or have a principal place of business in a designated county in any of the states, and taxpayers whose books, records or tax professionals are located in a designated county. Relief workers also qualify.

 

Designated parishes in Louisiana include Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard. Designated counties in Maine include Androscoggin, Aroostook, Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc, Somerset, Waldo, Washington, and York. Designated counties in Massachusetts include Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Worcester. Other counties may be added as FEMA assesses damages. Check the IRS disaster page for the latest list of localities.

 

The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in covered disaster areas and applies the administrative relief. Taxpayers with a residence or a principal place of business outside the affected area but with records in the affected area that are necessary to meet a deadline occurring within the postponement period must call the IRS disaster hotline at (866) 562-5227 to get relief.

 

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Buck Buchanan

Atlanta, Georgia

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