IRS Announces Tax Relief for Victims of Hurricane Ida

October 15th tax deadlines and other dates have been extended to January 3rd

Hurricane IDA Disaster Relief

The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on August 26, 2021. As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until January 3, 2022, 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 October 15, 2021, will now have until January 3, 2022, to file. The IRS did however note that since tax payments related to 2020 returns were due on May 17, 2021, those payments are not eligible for relief.


Excerpts from IR-2021-175, August 31, 2021

The January 3, 2022 deadline also applies to quarterly estimated income tax payments due on September 15, 2021, and the quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on November 1, 2021. It also applies to tax-exempt organizations, operating on a calendar-year basis, that had a valid extension due to run out on November 15, 2021. Businesses with extensions also have the additional time including, among others, calendar-year corporations whose 2020 extensions run out on October 15, 2021.

In addition, penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after August 26 and before September 10, will be abated as long as the deposits are made by September 10, 2021.

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.

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 – 4611 − for Hurricane Ida in Louisiana on any return claiming a loss.

Visit DisasterAssistance.gov