Victims of Hurricane Ida in
parts of Mississippi now have until Nov. 1, 2021, to file various individual
and business tax returns and make tax payments, the Internal Revenue Service
announced today.
The IRS is offering relief to
any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as qualifying for individual or public assistance.
Currently, individuals and households affected by Hurricane Ida that reside or
have a business in all 82 counties and the Mississippi Choctaw Indian
Reservation qualify for tax relief. The current list of eligible localities is
always available on the disaster relief page on IRS.gov.
“The IRS stands ready to help
people and businesses affected by Hurricane Ida, now and in the weeks ahead,”
said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
The tax relief postpones
various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on Aug. 28,
2021. As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until Nov. 1,
2021, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this
period. This means individuals who had a valid extension to file their 2020 return
due to run out on Oct. 15, 2021, will now have until Nov. 1, 2021, to file. The
IRS noted, however, that because tax payments related to these 2020 returns
were due on May 17, 2021, those payments are not eligible for this relief.
The Nov. 1, 2021 deadline also
applies to quarterly estimated income tax payments due on Sept. 15, 2021, and
the quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Nov. 1, 2021.
Businesses with an original or extended due date also have the additional time
including, among others, calendar-year partnerships and S corporations whose
2020 extensions run out on Sept. 15, 2021 and calendar-year corporations whose
2020 extensions run out on Oct. 15, 2021.
In addition, penalties on
payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 28, 2021 and before Sept.
13, will be abated as long as the deposits are made by Sept. 13, 2021.
The IRS disaster relief page has details on other returns,
payments and tax-related actions qualifying for the additional time.
The IRS automatically provides
filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located
in the disaster area. Therefore, taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to
get this relief. However, if an affected taxpayer receives a late filing or
late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original or extended
filing, payment or deposit due date falling within the postponement period, the
taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.
In addition, the IRS will work
with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but whose records
necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period are
located in the affected area. Taxpayers qualifying for relief who live outside
the disaster area need to contact the IRS at 866-562-5227. This also includes
workers assisting the relief activities who are affiliated with a recognized
government or philanthropic organization.
Individuals and businesses in a
federally declared disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed
disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the return for the
year the loss occurred (in this instance, the 2021 return normally filed next
year), or the return for the prior year (2020). Be sure to write the FEMA
declaration number – EM-3569 − on any return claiming a loss. See Publication 547 for details.
The tax relief is part of a
coordinated federal response to the damage caused by Hurricane Ida and is based
on local damage assessments by FEMA. For information on disaster recovery, visit
disasterassistance.gov.
