IR-2019-31<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WASHINGTON \u2013 Victims of Sunday\u2019s\ntornadoes and severe storms in Alabama have until July 31, 2019, to file certain individual and business tax returns\nand make certain tax payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IRS is offering this\nrelief to any Major Disaster Declaration area designated by the Federal\nEmergency Management Agency (FEMA<\/a>) as qualifying for individual\nassistance. Currently, this only includes Lee County, Alabama, but taxpayers in\nlocalities added later to the disaster area, including those in other states,\nwill automatically receive the same filing and payment relief. The current list\nof eligible localities is always available on the disaster relief<\/a> page on\nIRS.gov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe IRS moved\nswiftly to provide this relief for those affected by this terrible tragedy,\u201d\nsaid IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. \u201cWith the regular deadline just a few weeks\naway, we want storm victims to focus on their families and recovering, rather\nthan worrying about the tax deadline. IRS employees stand ready to support the\ndisaster recovery effort as they have done many times in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tax relief postpones various tax filing\nand payment deadlines that occurred starting on March 3, 2019. As a result,\naffected individuals and businesses will have until July 31, 2019, to file\nreturns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period. This\nincludes individual income tax returns and payments normally due April 15,\n2019. Eligible taxpayers will also have until July 31, 2019 to make 2018 IRA\ncontributions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The July 31, 2019, deadline also applies to quarterly\nestimated income tax payments due on April 15 and June 17, 2019 and the\nquarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on April 30, 2019. It\nalso applies to tax-exempt organizations, operating on a calendar-year basis,\nthat have a Form 990 information return \ndue on May 15, 2019. Businesses, including corporations, S corporations\nand partnerships, that have a 2018 return due during this period also have the\nextra time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after March\n3, 2019, and before March 18, 2019, will be abated as long as the deposits are\nmade by March 18, 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The IRS\ndisaster relief<\/a> page has details on other returns, payments and\ntax-related actions qualifying for the additional time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The IRS\nautomatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS\naddress of record located in the disaster area. Thus, taxpayers need not\ncontact the IRS to get this relief. However, if an affected taxpayer receives a\nlate filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original or\nextended filing, payment or deposit due date falling within the postponement\nperiod, the taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the penalty\nabated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, the\nIRS will work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but whose\nrecords necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period\nare located in the affected area. Taxpayers qualifying for relief who live\noutside the disaster area need to contact the IRS at 1-866-562-5227. This also\nincludes workers assisting the relief activities who are affiliated with a\nrecognized government or philanthropic organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Individuals and\nbusinesses in a federally declared disaster area who suffered uninsured or\nunreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the\nreturn for the year the loss occurred (in this instance, the 2019 return\nnormally filed next year), or the return for the prior year (2018). This means\nthat eligible taxpayers who haven\u2019t yet filed their 2018 return can claim a loss,\nand those who have already filed can choose to do so by filing an amended\nreturn. Be sure to include the disaster declaration number, FEMA 4419, on any\nreturn. See Publication 547<\/a> and Publication 5307<\/a>for\ndetails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n