On Feb. 24, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it will be extending the tax filing deadline for millions of people in Alabama, California and Georgia who were impacted by a series of natural disasters starting at the end of 2022.
In the last few days of December 2022, California suffered widespread flooding due to an “atmospheric river,” which caused heavy storms, and in January and February a series of tornadoes tore through sections of Alabama and Georgia.
The IRS announced on Friday that taxpayers “in most of California and parts of Alabama and Georgia” will now have until Oct. 16, 2023, to file their taxes. The IRS previously pushed back the deadline to May 15 before the most recent IRS update.
“The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in these three states,” an IRS news release said. “There are four different eligible FEMA declarations, and the start dates and other details vary for each of these disasters.” The IRS advises residents to check the current list of eligible localities on its website.
“The declaration permits the IRS to postpone certain tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area. For instance, certain deadlines falling on or after December 27, 2022, and before October 16, 2023, are granted additional time to file through October 16, 2023,” the IRS release added.
Taxpayers in the areas and counties listed in the above link will be allowed to make their 2022 contributions to their IRAs and health savings accounts until Oct. 16, the agency said.
The IRS added that taxpayers who live outside of the listed counties but were still impacted by the storms may be covered and will need to contact the IRS to determine whether they’re eligible.
However, the IRS’s announcement only applies to federal taxes, not state taxes. Residents living in Georgia and Alabama will still have to file state taxes by April 18, 2023, unless their state gives an extension. The California Franchise Tax Board already granted impacted state residents an extension until May 15, 2023.
Everyone outside of the affected areas will be required to file taxes by April 18, the IRS announced earlier this year.
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