IRS extends tax filing deadline for hurricane victims

Victims of hurricanes Helene and Milton can expect various forms of tax relief, including an extension to file taxes and help with emergency retirement plan withdrawals, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) told taxpayers Friday.

Residents of hurricane-affected states who got extensions for their 2023 returns can now file as late as May 1, which is also the deadline for filing 2024 returns.

People who have retirement plans or individual retirement arrangements may be able to take a special disbursal exempt from the 10 percent early distribution tax and that would allow taxpayers to account for the extra income over three years, depending on their specific retirement plans.

There are also disaster loss deductions available to individuals and businesses for damaged property that isn’t covered by insurance or other forms of reimbursement.

The tax deadline extension would be available to taxpayers in certain disaster areas of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, the IRS said Friday.

Free tax record transcripts for lost documents are also available from the IRS, the agency said.

Other financial agencies have also offered assistance in the wake of recent weather events. 

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Federal Reserve said that it would be able to get more cash to local bank branches in affected areas to help make sure their customers could have cash on hand if they needed it.

“We have the ability through the reserve banks to make sure that the banks have available cash so that if power is out for a significant amount of time, there’s enough cash to do transactions,” Powell said in late September during an event in Tennessee.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton have battered the southeastern U.S. Hurricane Milton blasted across Florida in recent days and Hurricane Helene cut a swath up through southern states and into Appalachia.