Victims of Hurricane Harvey in some designated areas now have until January 31, 2018 to file certain federal tax returns and make payments.

On August 28, 2017, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced in a news release that it would postpone various individual and business federal tax return filing and payment deadlines that were to occur on or after August 23, 2017 until January 31, 2018 for certain persons affected by Hurricane Harvey. Specifically, this extension applies to taxpayers located in areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as qualifying for individual assistance.^[1] Any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located within these designated areas will automatically receive the extension. Taxpayers in areas that are later added as qualifying for individual assistance by FEMA will automatically receive the extension as well. Additionally, taxpayers who are outside of the designated area but have necessary records needed to meet deadlines located in a designated area may qualify for the extension, but must contact the IRS to determine eligibility for relief.

As noted above, the specific relief announced by the IRS extends federal tax return filing and payment deadlines for individuals and businesses with original deadlines that would have occurred starting on August 23, 2017 to January 31, 2018. In other words, individuals and businesses will have until January 31, 2018 to file federal tax returns and make federal tax payments that have either an original or extended due date during this period. For individuals, the extension covers 2016 income tax returns that received “automatic” filing extensions until October 16, 2017; however, tax payments associated with these returns are not eligible for the extension because the payments were originally due on April 18, 2017. Additionally, the extension applies to the September 15, 2017 and January 16, 2018 deadlines for making quarterly estimated tax payments. For businesses, the extension covers the October 31, 2017 deadline for quarterly payroll and excise tax returns. Notably, the IRS announcement also states that the IRS will waive late-deposit penalties for federal payroll and excise tax deposits that are normally due on or after August 23, 2017 and prior to September 7, 2017, as long as the deposits are made by September 7, 2017.

_{[1] When the IRS news release was originally issued on August 28, there were 18 counties in areas designated by FEMA as qualifying for individual assistance. By August 30 (and as of August 31), FEMA had designated another 11 counties, bringing the total counties eligible for this relief up to 29.}