Hurricane Harvey Survivors Get Tax Extension

By Gary Strauss

As Texas begins to recover from  Hurricane Harvey, some of the state’s residents and businesses will receive temporary tax relief.

Texans in 18 counties affected by the storm will have until Jan. 31, 2018 to file federal personal and business tax returns that otherwise would be due between Aug. 23 and January 2018. Federal tax payments originally due starting last week — including the Sept. 15 and Jan. 16, 2018 deadlines for quarterly estimated tax payments — will also be pushed off until Jan. 31. And taxpayers who requested six-month filing extensions on their 2016 tax forms will now have until Jan. 31 to file instead of the original Oct. 16 date.

Taxpayers in Aransas, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Harris, Jackson, Kleberg, Liberty, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria and Wharton counties are eligible for the federal extensions.

The IRS will provide automatic filing and penalty relief to taxpayers with addresses in those counties, so there’s no need to contact the IRS directly.

With a downgraded Harvey hitting Louisiana early Wednesday, with some flooding there, as well as potential storm-related damage to other states including Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky,  IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the agency may also provide additional relief to other regions affected by the storm.

Texas is among seven states with no personal income tax. But the Texas Comptroller’s office said it will provide business owners a break by granting filing extensions of up to 90 days on monthly and quarterly state business taxes for companies in the 18 counties affected by the hurricane. The extensions will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

“We know businesses and taxpayers will need to focus on cleanup and recovery in the weeks and months to come,” said Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar. “Giving folks in these disaster zones the opportunity to request a filing and payment extension should allow them to focus on those recovery efforts without the worry of a looming tax deadline.”

This article was originally filed on Aug. 31, 2017 here:

http://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/info-2017/hurricane-harvey-survivors-tax-extensions-fd.html