IRS Extends Tax Deadlines to May 15
for New York Winter Storm Victims
The IRS has extended the deadlines for the filing of various federal individual and business tax returns, and for the submission of tax payments, to May 15, 2023, for victims of winter storms and blizzards in New York state.
The relief is offered to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a result of storms that occurred between Dec. 23 and Dec. 28, 2022. Individuals and households that reside or have a business in Erie, Genesee, Niagara, St. Lawrence and Suffolk counties qualify for the relief. Other areas may be added later. A list of eligible localities is available on the IRS’s Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page.
The relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on Dec. 23, 2022, such as 2022 individual income tax returns due on April 18, 2023, and various 2022 business returns normally due on March 15 and April 18, 2023. Eligible taxpayers also have until May 15 to make 2022 contributions to their IRAs and health savings accounts.
The IRS’s Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses page has details on other returns, payments and tax-related actions qualifying for the additional time. Some affected taxpayers who may need more time to file beyond the May 15 deadline are being urged by the IRS to request the additional time, electronically, before the original April 18 deadline. Details are available at IRS.gov/extensions.
The IRS automatically provides 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 agency to get this relief. Any affected taxpayer receiving a late filing, payment or deposit due date falling within the postponement period should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.
The IRS said that it will work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but whose records necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period are located in the affected area. Such taxpayers need to contact the IRS at 866-562-5227. This also includes workers assisting the relief activities who are affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization.
Individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area 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, and must write the FEMA declaration number—4694-DR—on any return claiming a loss. More details are available at Publication 547.
The information presented here should not be construed as legal, tax, accounting, or valuation advice. No one should act on such information without appropriate professional advice and after a thorough examination of the particular situation.