Hurricane Ian Florida Tax Relief

Hurricane Ian hit southwest Florida on Wednesday, September 28 as a powerful Category 4 hurricane. After tearing through the state causing disastrous flooding and leaving many homeless, Hurricane Ian has caused a major shift in priorities for Florida residents. With that in mind, the IRS has extended the October 17th deadline for Florida residents to February 15, 2023 to file and pay various federal, individual, and business tax returns.

 

Who will benefit from the extension?

Any areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are being offered relief by the IRS. Anyone who lives in or has a business anywhere in the state of Florida qualifies for this tax relief. The current list of specified eligible locations is available on the disaster relief page on IRS.gov.

The tax relief includes the postponing of various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred as of September 23, 2022. As the October 17 filing deadline is rapidly approaching, Florida residents that qualify for tax relief will now have until February 15, 2023 to file their federal returns, along with filing or paying any other taxes that were originally due during this period.

Tax deadlines affected by the extension include:

• Taxpayers who had a valid extension to file their federal 2021 tax return by October 17, 2022
• Quarterly estimated income tax payments due on January 17, 2023
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on October 31, 2022 and January 31, 2023
• Businesses with an original or extended due date also have the additional time including calendar-year corporations whose 2021 extensions run out on October 17, 2022
• Tax-exempt organizations have the additional time including for 2021 calendar-year returns with extensions due to run out on November 15, 2022
• Penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after September 23, 2022 and before October 10, 2022 will be abated as long as the deposits are made by October 10, 2022

Next steps for impacted taxpayers

Do you have to apply for the extension? No. The IRS will automatically provide filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area so taxpayers do not need to contact the IRS to get the relief. However, if you receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice that has the original or extended filing, payment, or deposit due date within the postponement period, you should call the number on the notice to have it abated.

Can I claim Hurricane Ian disaster losses on my tax return?

Individuals or businesses who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-relief losses in a federally-declared disaster area can choose to claim them on either the return for the year that the loss occurred or the prior year; in this case either 2022 or 2021. If you are claiming a loss on your tax return, be sure to include the FEMA declaration number – DR-4673-FL.

More updates for Florida residents

The Florida Department of Revenue has provided a list of links  with updates and resources for businesses and individuals pertaining to the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

The US Small Business Administration has three different loans available for disasters that would apply to Florida residents and taxpayers as a result of the hurricane.

• Home Disaster Loans – Loans to homeowners or renters.
• Business Physical Disaster Loans – Loans to businesses. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, non-profit organizations such as charities, churches, private universities, etc., are also eligible.
• Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) – Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes.

For more information on these loans and to apply, visit the Hurricane Ian page under Disaster Assistance on sba.gov.

If you have any questions about how this tax relief may affect you or your business, contact us.  As always in times of uncertainty or disaster, your Alloy Silverstein CPA is here to answer your questions and help ease your stress. Please don’t hesitate to reach out for more information and guidance.

Further reading:

• Not Keeping Accounting Records in the Cloud Could be a Disaster
• Fast Tax Steps to Take for Disaster Area Losses
• What are the Rules for Hardship Withdrawals?
• The Essentials of an Effective Business Disaster Recovery Plan
• Donation Dos and Don’ts
• An Accounting Ally for Businesses in a Hurricane’s Path