As millions of taxpayers race to file their taxes by Tax Day on Tuesday, April 18, people recovering from massive snowstorms, devastating mudslides, tornadoes and other natural disasters have extra time to get their tax returns in order.
Tuesday marks the day when people need to pay their tax bill or arrange an installment plan, in order to avoid failure-to-pay penalties. It’s also the deadline to file a return or submit an extension in order to avoid failure-to-file penalties. Extensions give an extra six months to file a return, going up to Oct. 16.
But the rules are not for everyone. That’s because the IRS routinely gives extra time to file and pay for taxpayers in places that are bouncing back from natural disasters.
This year, the locations include:
• Taxpayers and businesses in certain New York counties after a massive snowstorm in late December. New deadlines include a May 15 date to file tax returns and pay owed taxes.
• Taxpayers and businesses in certain parts of Indiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee have a July 31 deadline in the wake of storms and tornadoes last month.
• Taxpayers and businesses in many California counties have an Oct. 16 deadline in the wake of mudslides, flooding and storms. Los Angeles County, the country’s most populous county, is included on the IRS list of counties where affected taxpayers have more time.
The deadline relief automatically applies to taxpayers located in the disaster areas. But if there are taxpayers who are outside the covered areas but need extra time due to the incident, the IRS says they can call the disaster hotline at (866) 562-5227.
The new dates give taxpayers more time to file and pay owed taxes without incurring penalties and interest, said IRS spokesman Eric Smith. The relief also includes extra time for taxpayers in these locations to make contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts, Smith noted.
See also: How to cut your taxes, at the last minute
The pushed-back deadlines, May 15, July 31 and Oct. 31, respectively, are also the deadlines for contributions to IRAs and HSAs.
Like the April 18 deadline to pay and file, or to seek an extension, Tuesday is the last day most taxpayers can make tax-year 2022 contributions to IRAs and HSAs.
The IRS is estimating it will receive approximately 20.6 million extension requests for this filing season.
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