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IRS Provides Tax Relief to Virginia Victims of Hurricane Matthew

The IRS on Nov. 3 announced that it is granting relief to victims of Hurricane Matthew in parts of Virginia. It already has taken similar actions for hard-hit parts of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.

The IRS relief for Virginians applies to taxpayers in the cities of Chesapeake, Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

The declaration permits the IRS to postpone certain deadlines for taxpayers who live in, or have a business in, the disaster area. For instance:

  • Certain deadlines falling on or after Oct. 7, 2016, and on or before March 15, 2017 have been postponed to March 15, 2017. This includes the Jan. 17, 2017 deadline for making quarterly estimated tax payments and the 2015 individual returns on extension to Oct. 17. Also included are the Oct. 31 and Jan. 31 deadlines for quarterly payroll and excise tax returns.

  • The IRS is waiving the failure-to-deposit penalties for employment and excise tax deposits due on or after Oct. 7, as long as the deposits were made by Oct. 24, 2016.

If an affected taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original or extended filing, payment or deposit due date that falls within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the telephone number on the notice to have the IRS abate the penalty.

The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies automatic filing and payment relief. But affected taxpayers who reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area must call the IRS disaster hotline at 866-562-5227 to request this tax relief.