IRS provides Hurricane Helene relief

The IRS is providing disaster relief for individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Helene, including all of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The relief also covers 41 counties in Florida, eight counties in Tennessee, and six counties and one city in Virginia. The included list of counties may continue to expand.

Taxpayers in these areas have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. This relief includes:

• If you live in an affected area, your 2024 return normally due during March or April 2025 is now extended
• Any individual, business, or tax-exempt organization that already had an extension on their 2023 federal return (payments are not extended to the new due date)
• 2024 quarterly estimated tax payments that are normally due on Jan. 15, 2025, and 2025 estimated payments normally due on April 15, 2025
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns that are typically due on Oct. 31, 2024, and Jan. 31 and April 30, 2025

Last week, the AICPA also requested filing extensions from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) related to the filing of beneficial ownership information (BOI) and reports of foreign bank and financial accounts (FBAR) for major disaster victims.

Note that even if you were directly impacted by Helene you might unfortunately still receive a late filing or payment notice. This can happen if the IRS doesn't have a record of you living in the affected area (for example, if you recently moved) or if you are not included in the original notice for relief.

If you are in one of the disaster areas and have questions or concerns about whether you have a deadline extension, you should contact the IRS at 866-562-5227.