IRS Extends May 15 tax deadline to Oct. 16 for disaster area taxpayers

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The IRS announced on Friday, February 24, that disaster-area taxpayers in most of California and parts of Alabama and Georgia now have until Oct. 16, 2023, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. Previously, the deadline had been postponed to May 15 for these areas.

This includes:

  • Individual income tax returns, originally due on April 18
  • Various business returns, normally due on March 15 and April 18
  • Returns of tax-exempt organizations, normally due on May 15.

For the list of affected counties, and details regarding who automatically qualifies for relief, please review our post outlining the original May extension announcement.

The new October deadline announcement introduces additional important considerations:

  • IRA Contributions: Eligible taxpayers will have until Oct. 16 to make 2022 contributions to their IRAs and health savings accounts.
  • Farmers: Farmers who normally file by March 1 will have until Oct. 16, 2023, to file their 2022 return and pay any tax due.
  • Estimated Taxes: Estimated tax payments for the fourth quarter of 2022, originally due on Jan. 17, 2023, and 2023 estimated tax payments, normally due on April 18, June 15 and Sept. 15, are also extended. Taxpayers can choose to include these payment with the 2022 return they file on or before Oct. 16.
  • Payroll and Excise Taxes: The October deadline also applies to the quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Jan. 31, April 30, and July 31.

The IRS disaster relief page has details on other returns, payments and tax-related actions qualifying for the additional time. Taxpayers in the affected areas do not need to file any extension paperwork, and they do not need to call the IRS to qualify for the extended time.

The tax relief is part of a coordinated federal response to the damage caused by these storms and is based on local damage assessments by FEMA. For information on disaster recovery, visit disasterassistance.gov.

Note that the California FTB has not yet announced whether they will conform to the IRS guidance on this matter. We will continue to notify you as additional information is released.

The full IRS statement is available here: IRS: May 15 Deadline Extended to Oct. 16