Goodlettsville, Tennessee – In the wake of severe storms and tornadoes in Tennessee, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced tax relief for affected businesses and individuals. This comes following a disaster declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The IRS’s announcement, made on Friday, outlines specific relief measures for those in the disaster area, encompassing Davidson, Dickson, Montgomery, and Sumner counties.
The tax relief program is designed to alleviate the financial strain on those affected by the recent natural disasters. Individuals and households residing or operating a business in the designated counties are eligible for this relief. The IRS is postponing various tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines for those in the disaster area. This postponement applies to deadlines that fall on or after December 9, 2023, extending up to June 17, 2024.
As part of the relief measures, the IRS is allowing additional time for filing returns and paying taxes due during the specified period. Affected individuals and businesses now have until June 17, 2024, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due within this timeframe. This extended deadline includes individual income tax returns and payments that would typically be due on April 15, 2024.
Furthermore, the tax relief extends to contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and health savings accounts for the year 2023. These contributions can now be made until June 17, 2024, for those affected. Quarterly estimated tax payments, which would normally be due on January 16, 2024, and April 15, 2024, also fall under this relief umbrella.
For payroll and excise tax deposits, the IRS is offering penalty abatement. Deposits due on or after December 9, 2023, and before December 26, 2023, will not incur penalties if made by December 26, 2023.
The June 17, 2024, deadline also encompasses a range of business-related tax obligations. This includes quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due in early 2024, calendar-year partnership and S corporation returns due on March 15, 2024, calendar-year corporation and fiduciary returns due on April 15, 2024, and calendar-year tax-exempt organization returns due on May 15, 2024.
The IRS also addressed the matter of additional tax-filing extensions. Affected taxpayers seeking an extension beyond June 17, 2024, for their 2023 federal income tax return, are advised to request it electronically by April 15, 2024. If a taxpayer needs to request an extension between April 15 and June 17, 2024, it must be done via paper submission. Regardless of the method, the extended filing deadline is October 15, 2024, although payments are still due by June 17, 2024. More details on how to apply for an extension are available on the IRS website.
In cases where affected taxpayers receive late filing or payment penalty notices for deadlines falling within the postponement period, they are encouraged to contact the IRS using the phone number on the notice to have the penalty abated.
The IRS automatically applies filing and payment relief to taxpayers identified as located in the covered disaster area. Those who reside or have a business outside the covered area but are impacted should contact the IRS disaster hotline at 866-562-5227 to request tax relief.
