Additionally, those in 20 counties previously receiving relief under Hurricane Debby but not Helene will receive disaster tax relief under Milton from Aug. 1, 2024 through May 1, 2025. They are Baker, Brevard, Clay, DeSoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lake, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, and Volusia counties.
• Any individual or business with a 2024 return usually due in March or April 2025.
• Any individual, C corporation or tax-exempt organization with a valid extension to file their calendar-year 2023 federal return. However, the payments on these returns are not eligible for the extra time because they were due last spring before the hurricane occurred.
• 2024 quarterly estimated tax payments normally due on Jan. 15, 2025, and 2025 estimated tax payments normally due on April 15, 2025.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns usually due on Oct. 31, 2024, Jan. 31, 2025 and April 30, 2025.
Additionally, for Hurricane Milton-impacted localities, penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Oct. 5 and before Oct. 21 will be abated as long as the deposits are made by Oct. 21.
The localities eligible for this relief are Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putman, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union and Volusia counties. Deposit penalty relief and other relief were previously provided to taxpayers affected by Debby and Helene.
The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to taxpayers with an IRS address of record in the disaster area without asking for it. An impacted taxpayer may not have an IRS address of record located in the disaster area, for instance, because they moved to the disaster area after filing their return. In these circumstances, the affected taxpayer could receive a late filing or payment penalty notice from the IRS for the postponement period. The IRS will also work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but whose records are located in the affected area and necessary to meet a deadline during the postponement period.
In terms of additional benefits, those in a federally declared disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can claim them on either the return for the year the loss occurred—in this instance, the 2024 return typically filed next year —or the return for the prior year—the 2023 return filed this year. Taxpayers have extra time, up to six months after the due date of the taxpayer’s federal income tax return for the disaster year, to make this choice. For individual taxpayers, this means Oct. 15, 2025.
Qualified disaster relief payments are generally excluded from gross income, which typically means that affected taxpayers can exclude from their gross income amounts received from a government agency for reasonable and necessary personal, family, living, or funeral expenses, as well as for the repair or rehabilitation of their home or the repair or replacement of its contents.
Additional relief may be available to affected taxpayers participating in a retirement plan or individual retirement arrangement. The IRS might also offer added disaster relief in the future.