Saturday, September 10, 2011

Filing Time Extended to Aide Those Affected by Hurricane Irene

The Internal Revenue Service is providing tax relief to individual and business taxpayers impacted by Hurricane Irene.

The IRS announced that certain taxpayers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Vermont will receive tax relief, and other locations are expected to be added in coming days following additional damage assessments by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The tax relief postpones certain tax filing and payment deadlines to Oct. 31, 2011. It includes corporations and businesses that previously obtained an extension until Sept. 15, 2011, to file their 2010 returns and individuals and businesses that received a similar extension until Oct. 17. It also includes the estimated tax payment for the third quarter of 2011, which would normally be due Sept. 15.

Full details, including the start date for the relief in various locations and information on how to claim a disaster loss by amending a prior-year tax return, can be found in tax relief announcements for individual states on this website.

The tax relief is part of a coordinated federal response to the damage caused by the hurricane and is based on local damage assessments by FEMA. For information on disaster recovery, individuals should visit disasterassistance.gov.

Tax Relief That Is Available So Far
Filing and payment relief is currently available to taxpayers in federal disaster areas declared in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Vermont. The IRS expects to announce tax relief for taxpayers in other areas as damage assessments continue. The IRS encourages taxpayers and tax practitioners to monitor Tax Relief in Disaster Situations on this website for updates.
So far, IRS filing and payment relief applies to the following counties and municipalities:
  • In Connecticut: Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Tolland and Windham;
  • In Massachusetts: Berkshire and Franklin;
  • In New Hampshire: Carroll and Grafton;
  • In New Jersey: Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren;
  • In New York: Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Montgomery, Nassau, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Sullivan, Suffolk, Ulster, Warren, Washington and Westchester; 
  • In North Carolina: Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington and Wilson;
  • In Puerto Rico: Arroyo, Aguas Buenas, Caguas, Canovanas, Carolina, Cayey, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Humacao, Jayuya, Juncos, Loiza, Luquillo, Orocovis, Patillas, Ponce and San Juan.
  • In Vermont: Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Orange, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor;
 The taxpayer’s preparer must be located in an area that was under an evacuation order or a severe weather warning because of Hurricane Irene, even if the preparer is located outside of the federally declared disaster areas.  Do keep in mind the following:

a.  This relief, which primarily applies to corporations, partnerships and trusts that previously obtained a tax filing extension, is available to taxpayers regardless of their location.

b.  This relief does not apply to any tax payment requirements.

c.  This relief is in addition to the filing and payment relief the IRS is providing to taxpayers located in disaster areas declared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

For details, visit Tax Relief in Disaster Situations on this website.

Keeping you in the loop! www.EnvisionTaxandAccounting.com