IRS Extends Tax Relief to Victims of Hurricane Debbie in South Carolina, Vermont and Portions of Florida and Georgia by Steven Rubin, CPA

2024-08-20

The IRS has extended until Feb. 3, 2025, various tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines for individuals and businesses recently impacted by Hurricane Debbie, which first made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast in early August.

The postponed deadline applies automatically to taxpayers with homes or businesses located in the following jurisdictions declared as federal disaster areas:

• 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
• Vermont: All 14 counties

The relief also applies to:

• Businesses that do not have operations in the covered disaster areas but do maintain records there;
• Estates and trusts that have records required to meet their tax filing and payment deadlines located anywhere in South Carolina and the affected Florida, Georgia and North Carolina counties;
• Spouses of affected taxpayers who file joint tax returns; and
• Individual relief workers assisting in a covered disaster area, regardless of whether they are affiliated with recognized government or philanthropic organizations.

The tax reporting and payment obligations qualifying for the Feb. 3, 2025, deadline without risk of penalty include:

• Any individual, business or tax-exempt organization with a valid extension can file their 2023 federal return. Please note that payments on these returns are not eligible for the extra time because they were due before the hurricane occurred.
• Quarterly estimated income tax payments typically 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 also be abated as long as the deposits are made by Aug. 16, 2024. 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 as long as 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 as long as the deposits are made by Aug. 20, 2024. Finally, taxpayers in Vermont will not incur penalties for any failure to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 8, 2024, and before Aug. 23, 2024, provided they make those deposits by Aug. 23, 2024.

Affected taxpayers in all five states who incurred casualty losses due to Hurricane Debbie can claim a disaster-related casualty loss on their 2023 or 2024 federal income tax returns. Please consult your tax advisors to determine which option is best suited to your unique needs and circumstances.

About the Author: Steven Rubin, CPA, is a senior manager of Tax Services with Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors and CPA, where he provides federal, state and local tax compliance and consulting services to corporations, closely held businesses and high-net-worth families. He can be reached at the CPA firm’s Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., office at (954) 712-7000 or info@bpbpcpa.com.

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