Victims of Tropical Storm Imelda that took place from Sept. 17-23, 2019 in Texas may qualify for tax relief from the Internal Revenue Service.
The President has declared that a major disaster occurred in several Texas counties Following the recent disaster declaration for individual assistance issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the IRS announced today that individuals who reside or have a business in Chambers, Harris, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery, and Orange counties may qualify for tax relief.
The declaration permits the IRS to postpone certain deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area. For instance, certain deadlines falling on or after Sept. 17, 2019, and before Jan. 31, 2020 are granted additional time to file through Jan. 31, 2020. This includes taxpayers who had an extension to file their 2018 return to October 15, 2019.
In addition, penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Sept. 17, 2019, and before Oct. 2, 2019, will be abated as long as the deposits were made by Oct. 2, 2019.
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 that falls within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the telephone number on the notice to have the IRS abate the penalty.
The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies automatic filing and payment relief. But affected taxpayers who reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area must call the IRS disaster hotline at 866-562-5227 to request this tax relief.
