As Southern California braced for blizzards, including in the mountains outside Los Angeles, for the first time since 1989, the IRS announced this extension on Friday, February 24. To date, the state has endured catastrophic levels of flooding, as well as mudslides, landslides, and severe winter storms after a series of wildfires last year. While in January, the IRS announced extensions of the tax deadline until May 15; they have now expanded the deadline through October 16. The list of affected counties the extension takes effect in is listed on the IRS Tax Relief website.

The extra relief postpones several filing and payment deadlines, including those for most calendar-year 2022 individual and business returns, until October 16. That includes individual income tax returns that originally came due on April 18, along with different business returns, ordinarily due on March 15 and April 18, and returns of tax-exempt organizations, typically due May 15. That means eligible taxpayers will also get until October 16 to make 2022 contributions to their IRAs and health savings accounts. Farmers who forgo making estimated tax payments and usually file their returns by March 1 now have until October 16, 2023, to file their 2022 return and pay any tax due.

The October 16 deadline also applies to the estimated tax payment for the fourth quarter of 2022, initially due January 17, 2023. Therefore, taxpayers can skip making this payment and instead include it with the 2022 return they file on or before October 16. The extended deadline also applies to 2023 estimated tax payments, usually due April 18, June 15, and September 15. It also applies to the quarterly payroll and excise tax returns, usually due on January 31, April 30, and July 31.

Taxpayers in the affected areas do not need to file any extension paperwork or call the IRS to qualify for the extended time. The service automatically provides filing and penalty relief to taxpayers with an IRS address of record in the disaster area. Therefore, taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to get this relief. However, if an affected taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS with an original or extended filing, payment, or deposit due date falling within the postponement period, they should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.

The IRS said it would work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but whose records necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period are located in the affected area. Taxpayers qualifying for relief living outside the disaster area must contact the IRS at (866) 562-5227. That includes workers helping with relief activities affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization. Individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can opt to claim them on either the return for the year that the loss occurred or the return for the prior year.

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