Tax Relief for Victims of Hurricane Irma

From the Desk of Lauran L Stevenson

Tax Relief for Victims of Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma left record breaking damage in its wake, leaving many taxpayers in uncertainty for the coming months. President Trump has declared that major disaster areas exist in Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. New press releases from the IRS have outlined some tax relief for the victims in hopes to alleviate some stress on taxpayers.

Like the victims of Hurricane Harvey, victims of Hurricane Irma will be granted tax filing extensions until January 31, 2018, to file certain individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments. This will also include making quarterly estimated tax payments for September 15th, 2017 and January 16th, 2018.

A variety of business tax deadlines are also affected including the October 31st deadline for quarterly payroll and excise tax returns. Businesses with extensions also have additional time including calendar-year partnerships and calendar- year tax-exempt organizations. Individuals and businesses who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the return for the year the loss occurred or the return for the prior year (2016).