Legislation passed by Congress will allow the IRS to grant tax relief when a governor declares either a disaster or a state emergency, rather than waiting for a federal disaster declaration, which may occur weeks after the state takes action.
The Senate on Thursday, July 10, passed the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, which passed the House in April. It now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.
Currently, the IRS must wait for the federal government to declare a disaster before postponing federal tax deadlines, including (but not limited to) deadlines for filing federal tax returns, paying federal taxes, making retirement plan contributions, assessing taxes and pursuing collections.
The new law will authorize the IRS to postpone such federal tax deadlines for taxpayers affected by a qualified state-declared disaster upon written request by the state’s governor. It will apply to declarations made after the date the law is enacted. Read more.