IRS Provides Tax Relief to California Storm Victims

The IRS is providing tax relief to storm victims who live or have a business in the disaster area now have until May 15, 2023, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and to make tax payments.

The disaster área designated by the federal government includes the following counties: Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt,Los Angeles, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Placer, Riverside,Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara,Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Ventura, Yolo, and Yuba.

The IRS has postponed various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred beginning on January 8, 2023. As a result, individuals and households who live or have a business in aforementioned counties will have until May 15, 2023, to file returns and pay taxes that were originally due during this period. This tax relief includes business returns due on March 15, 2023 and business and individual returns due on April 18, 2023.

The May 15, 2023, deadline also applies to:

1. The quarterly estimated tax payments normally due on January 17, 2023, and April 18, 2023.
2. The quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on January 31 and April 30, 2023.

In addition, penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after January 8, 2023, and before January 23, 2023, will be abated if the tax deposits are made by January 23, 2023. Relief is automatic for those impacted by the winter storms. The IRS will automatically apply this tax relief to any taxpayer with an address in the disaster area.

However, affected taxpayers that receive a penalty notice from the IRS for a return that has a due date falling within the postponement period (January 8, 2023, to May15, 2023) should call the phone number on the notice to have the penalty abated. In addition, taxpayers who live or have a business outside the disaster area but whose tax records are in the disaster area and workers assisting in disaster relief activities should call the IRS at 866-562-5227 to ask for this tax relief. Victims in the disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the current year (2023) or prior year 2022 return. Taxpayers claiming disaster losses should write the FEMA declaration number-3691-EM-on any return claiming such a loss.

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