Individuals and businesses in the four states affected by Hurricane Debby – South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia – now have until next February to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

The IRS is offering assistance to all areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Individuals and households who reside or operate a business in the following areas are eligible for this assistance:

• Florida: Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa , Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Walton, Wakulla and Washington Counties.
• Georgia: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans , Glynn, Grady, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Long, Lowndes, McIntosh, Mitchell, Montgomery, Pierce, Richmond, Screven, Tattnall, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Ware, Wayne, Wheeler, Wilcox and Worth Counties.
• North Carolina: Alamance, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Davie, Davidson, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Pitt , Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Sampson, Scotland, Stokes, Surry, Tyrrell, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wilson and Yadkin Counties.
• South Carolina: All 46 counties.

Individuals and households residing or operating a business in one of these places are eligible for assistance, which is also available to all other counties that are later added to the disaster area. The current list of eligible places can always be found on the Tax relief in the event of a disaster IRS.gov page.

Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg

The relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that began on August 1, 2024 in Florida, August 4, 2024 in Georgia and South Carolina, and August 5, 2024 in North Carolina. The relief period lasts until February 3, 2025, in all four states, and affected individuals and businesses have until then to file tax returns and pay any taxes originally due during that period.

The deadline of 3 February 2025 applies to:

• Any individual, business, or tax-exempt organization that has a valid extension to file their 2023 federal tax return. Payments on these returns are not eligible for the additional deadline because they were due last spring, before the hurricane.
• Quarterly advance payments of income tax, normally due on September 16, 2024 and January 15, 2025.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns are normally due on October 31, 2024 and January 31, 2025.

In Florida, penalties for failure to deposit payroll and use taxes due on or after August 1, 2024, and before August 16, 2024, will be mitigated provided the deposits are made by August 16 of that year.
In South Carolina and Georgia, penalties for failure to deposit payroll and use taxes due on or after August 4, 2024, and before August 19, 2024, will be reduced if deposits are made by August 19, 2024.

In North Carolina, penalties for failure to deposit payroll and use taxes due on or after August 5, 2024, and before August 20, 2024, will be reduced if deposits are made by August 20.

The same aid will also be available to all other counties that will be added to the disaster area later. The current list of eligible localities can be found on the Tax relief in the event of a disaster Page on IRS.gov.

The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that ranged from July 5 last year to February 3, 2025. Affected individuals and businesses have until that date to file tax returns and pay any taxes originally due during that period.

The deadline of February 3 applies, for example, to:

• Any individual, business, or tax-exempt organization that has a valid extension to file their 2023 federal tax return. Payments on these returns are not affected by the additional deadline because they were due last spring before Beryl.
• Quarterly advance payments of income tax, normally due on September 16, 2024 and January 15, 2025.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns are normally due on July 31 and October 31, 2024 and January 31, 2025.

Penalties for failure to deposit payroll and excise taxes due on or after July 5, 2024, and before July 22, 2024, will be reduced provided deposits are made by July 22.
The Disaster relief and emergency aid for private individuals and companies The page provides details of other returns, payments and tax-related measures that may qualify for relief during the deferral period.

The IRS automatically grants a reduction in filing and penalty fees to any taxpayer with a registered address in the disaster area. If an affected taxpayer does not have an address in the disaster area (for example, because they moved there after filing their tax return) and they receive a penalty notice from the IRS for late filing or late payment for the deferral period, they should call the number on the notice to have the penalty reduced.

The service is available to any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but has the necessary documentation to meet a deadline that is due during the deferral period in the affected area. Qualified taxpayers living outside the disaster area should call the IRS at (866) 562-5227, including those assisting with relief efforts and those working for an approved government or philanthropic organization.

Tax advisors in disaster areas with clients outside the disaster area can Mass requests from practitioners for disaster relief Option on IRS.gov.

Individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area that have suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses may choose to claim them on their tax return for the year the loss occurred (in this case, the 2024 tax return, which is typically filed the next year) or on their tax return for the previous year (the 2023 tax return, which is filed this year).

Taxpayers have additional time—up to six months after the due date of the taxpayer’s federal income tax return for the disaster year (not counting any extension to file)—to make the election. For individual taxpayers, that means October 15, 2025.

Taxpayers and tax advisors should write the FEMA declaration number on each loss declaration:

• 3605-EM for Florida;
• 3606-EM for South Carolina;
• 3607-EM for Georgia; and
• 3608-EM for North Carolina.