IRS gives Debby victims in Southeast tax relief

Individuals and businesses in four states affected by Hurricane Debby — South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia — now have until next February to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Individuals and households that reside or have a business in the following qualify for this relief:

• Florida: Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Walton, Wakulla and Washington Counties.
• Georgia: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glynn, Grady, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Long, Lowndes, McIntosh, Mitchell, Montgomery, Pierce, Richmond, Screven, Tattnall, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Ware, Wayne, Wheeler, Wilcox and Worth Counties.
• North Carolina: Alamance, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen , Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Davie, Davidson, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Sampson, Scotland, Stokes, Surry, Tyrrell, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wilson and Yadkin Counties.
• South Carolina: All 46 counties.

Individuals and households that reside or have a business in any one of these localities qualify for relief, which will also be available to any other counties added later to the disaster area. The current list of eligible localities is always on the Tax relief in disaster situations page of IRS.gov. 

The relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred beginning on Aug. 1, 2024, in Florida, Aug. 4, 2024, in Georgia and South Carolina, and Aug.5, 2024, in North Carolina. The relief period continues through Feb. 3, 2025, in all four states and affected individuals and businesses have until then to file returns and pay any taxes originally due during this period. 

The Feb. 3, 2025, deadline applies to:

• Any individual, business or tax-exempt organization that has a valid extension to file their 2023 federal return. Payments on these returns are ineligible for the extra time because they were due last spring, before the hurricane.
• Quarterly estimated income tax payments normally due on Sept. 16, 2024, and Jan. 15, 2025.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31, 2024, and Jan. 31, 2025. 

In Florida, penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 1, 2024, and before Aug. 16, 2024, will be abated as long as the deposits are made by Aug. 16 this year.
In South Carolina and Georgia, penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 4, 2024, and before Aug. 19, 2024, will be abated if the deposits are made by Aug. 19, 2024.

In North Carolina, penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 5, 2024, and before Aug. 20, 2024, will be abated if the deposits are made by Aug. 20.     

The same relief will be available to any other counties added later to the disaster area. The current list of eligible localities is on the Tax relief in disaster situations page on IRS.gov.

The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred from last July 5 through Feb. 3, 2025. Affected individuals and businesses will have until the latter date to file returns and pay any taxes originally due during this period. 

For instance, the Feb. 3 deadline applies to:

• Any individual, business or tax-exempt organization that has a valid extension to file their 2023 federal return. Payments on these returns are not eligible for the extra time because they were due last spring, before Beryl. 
• Quarterly estimated income tax payments normally due on Sept. 16, 2024, and Jan. 15, 2025.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on July 31 and Oct. 31, 2024, and on Jan. 31, 2025. 

Penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after July 5, 2024, and before July 22, 2024, will be abated as long as the deposits were made by July 22.
The Disaster assistance and emergency relief for individuals and businesses page has details on other returns, payments and tax-related actions qualifying for relief during the postponement period.

The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an address of record in the disaster area. If an affected taxpayer does not have an address in the disaster area (because, for example, they moved to there after filing their return), and they receive a late-filing or late-payment penalty notice from the IRS for the postponement period, they should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.

The service will work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but has records necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period in the affected area. Qualifying taxpayers who live outside the disaster area should call the IRS at (866) 562-5227, including workers assisting the relief activities who are with a recognized government or philanthropic organization.

Disaster area tax preparers with clients located outside the disaster area can choose to use the Bulk Requests from Practitioners for Disaster Relief option on IRS.gov. 

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 2024 return normally filed next year), or the return for the prior year (the 2023 filed this year).

Taxpayers have extra time — up to six months after the due date of the taxpayer’s federal income tax return for the disaster year (without regard to any extension of time to file) — to make the election. For individual taxpayers, this means Oct. 15, 2025.

Taxpayers and tax preparers should write the FEMA declaration number on any return claiming a loss:

• 3605-EM for Florida;
• 3606-EM for South Carolina;
• 3607-EM for Georgia; and,
• 3608-EM for North Carolina.