IRS extends tax deadlines for some Hurricane Ida victims in Mississippi

The Internal Revenue Service is giving victims of Hurricane Ida in some parts of Mississippi until Jan. 3, 2022 to file their individual and business tax returns, although the Nov. 1, 2021 deadline still applies to the rest of the state.

The deadline extension comes after a disaster declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency last week. The IRS has previously provided tax relief to the entire state of Mississippi, postponing various tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines until Nov. 1, 2021.

The expanded relief postponing the tax deadline until next January for now only applies to Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Franklin, Georgia, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Lincoln, Pearl River, Pike, Simpson, Walthall, Wayne and Wilkinson counties. But the IRS said any jurisdiction that’s added to the Oct. 22 FEMA declaration will automatically qualify for the expanded IRS relief.

For now, the deadline remains Nov. 1 for affected taxpayers in other parts of Mississippi. The current list of eligible localities is always available on the disaster relief page on IRS.gov.

The new tax relief also postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that happened beginning Aug. 28, 2021. As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until Jan. 3, 2022, to file their tax returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during that period. This means individuals who had a valid extension to file their 2020 return that ran out on Oct. 15, 2021, will now have until Jan. 3, 2022, to file. The IRS added, however, that because tax payments related to these 2020 returns were due on May 17, 2021, those payments aren’t eligible for this relief.

The Jan. 3, 2022 deadline also applies to quarterly estimated income tax payments that come due on Sept. 15, 2021, as well as the quarterly payroll and excise tax returns that typically come due on Nov. 1, 2021. Businesses with an original or extended due date also get more time, including calendar-year partnerships and S corporations whose 2020 extensions ran out on Sept. 15, 2021 and calendar-year corporations whose 2020 extensions that were set to end Oct. 15, 2021. It also applies to calendar-year tax-exempt organizations whose 2020 extensions were supposed to end Nov. 15, 2021.

On top of that, penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 28, 2021 and before Sept. 13, will be abated as long as the deposits were made by Sept. 13, 2021.

The IRS disaster relief page provides further details on other returns, payments and tax-related actions qualifying for the extra time.

The IRS automatically provides this kind of tax filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area, so taxpayers don’t 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 that has an original or extended filing, payment or deposit due date falling within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.

The IRS said it will work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but who has records needed to meet a deadline during the postponement period located in the affected area. Taxpayers qualifying for relief who live outside the disaster area should contact the IRS at (866) 562-5227. That includes workers who help with disaster relief activities who are affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization.