The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that tax relief is now available for individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Debby in South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. The relief includes the postponement of various tax filing and payment deadlines to February 3, 2025.

Affected Areas

The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Currently, this includes:

• South Carolina: All 46 counties.
• Florida: 61 counties, including major areas like Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, and Orange.
• Georgia: 55 counties, including Fulton, Gwinnett, and Chatham.
• North Carolina: 66 counties, including Wake, Mecklenburg, and Guilford.

Additional counties may be added as damage assessments continue, and the current list of eligible localities can be found on the IRS’s “Tax Relief in Disaster Situations” page on IRS.gov.

Extended Deadlines

The relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred beginning:

• August 1, 2024: In Florida.
• August 4, 2024: In Georgia and South Carolina.
• August 5, 2024: In North Carolina.

The February 3, 2025, deadline applies to:

• Individuals, businesses, or tax-exempt organizations with a valid extension to file their 2023 federal return.
• Quarterly estimated income tax payments due on September 16, 2024, and January 15, 2025.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns due on October 31, 2024, and January 31, 2025.

Penalties and Additional Relief

In Florida, penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due between August 1 and August 16, 2024, will be abated if the deposits are made by August 16, 2024. Similar relief is provided in South Carolina and Georgia (deposits due between August 4 and August 19, 2024) and in North Carolina (deposits due between August 5 and August 20, 2024).

The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to taxpayers with an IRS address of record in the disaster area. Those who do not have an address of record in the affected area but were impacted by the disaster should contact the IRS for relief.

Taxpayers in federally declared disaster areas who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the 2024 return (filed next year) or the 2023 return (filed this year). The IRS also provides additional disaster relief options, including special provisions for retirement plan distributions.

For more information on disaster recovery and additional tax relief options, visit DisasterAssistance.gov or the IRS’s official website.