The IRS extends the tax deadline for certain taxpayers affected by Hurricane Debby 

Update: On August 13, 2024, the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) issued guidance on the relief they would be providing to South Carolina taxpayers in conjunction with the IRS relief that has been granted. For individuals residing in South Carolina and businesses located in South Carolina (as determined by the IRS address of record), SCDOR is postponing certain state filing and payment deadlines originally falling between August 4, 2024 and February 3, 2025, until February 3, 2025.  Click Here – for additional information on the relief provided by the SCDOR.

As a result of the impact of Hurricane Debby, the IRS has announced tax relief for the affected individuals and businesses in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.  The relief states that taxpayers who reside in or whose principal place of business is located in a county designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), now have until February 3, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.  

Please note that the relief provided by the IRS is only applicable to a taxpayer’s federal tax filing and payment obligations. This relief does not impact any tax filing or payment deadlines that exist for state tax purposes. Those deadlines will remain the same unless the states issue separate guidance. Because many state filings use the taxable income from the federal return as their starting point in calculating the state tax liability, while the IRS has granted relief for federal tax filings, in many cases the federal returns will still need to be timely completed in order to have the state return(s) accurately and timely filed. We will update this page for any state guidance on the tax relief for taxpayers affected by Hurricane Debby as it becomes available. 

The IRS tax relief is available to the following areas designated by FEMA (as of August 12, 2024): 

  • North Carolina (74 counties): Alamance, Alleghany, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Cabarrus, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Iredell, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Rowan, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Tyrrell, Union, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wilkes, Wilson and Yadkin. 
  • South Carolina: all 46 counties. 
  • Georgia (55 counties): 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. 
  • Florida (61 counties): 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.  

The following are some of the more notable federal deadlines that are now extended to February 3, 2025: 

  • 2023 federal individual or business income tax returns that are on extension and due September 16, 2024 or October 15, 2024, are now due February 3, 2025.  

The IRS has noted that because the payment related to a 2023 individual tax return was due on April 15, 2024, any payment of tax due related to a 2023 individual tax return will not be eligible for relief and should be paid as soon as possible. 

  • Any estimated income tax payments due within the relief period. For example, both individual and calendar year corporations have 3rd and 4th quarter federal estimated tax payments due within the relief period. Both of which will now be due February 3, 2025. 
  • Any business entity, including tax-exempt organizations, that have an original or extended tax return filing or payment deadline within the relief period. For example, many fiscal year-end taxpayers may have filing and/or payment deadlines that fall within this window that will now be extended to February 3, 2025.  

As noted above, at this time, none of the affected four states have issued any guidance stating that they will be extending the filing (or payment) deadlines for any state income tax returns or payments. Therefore, as of today, all state filings are still due by their original, or extended, deadline. This means that while the federal returns may now be due February 3, 2025, it will likely still need to be completed by the deadline that existed prior to this relief, in order to accurately and timely file any required state return(s). 

If you have any questions about how this relief impacts you or your business, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your trusted BRC tax advisor. 

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The information contained in this article is for informative purposes only and should not be relied on when making any business, legal, or other decisions. This information may be updated without notice and/or may not contain the most current information that is available related to this topic.