Financing

IRS delays tax collections for businesses in the 7 states devastated by Hurricane Helene

The deadline for returns and payments has been pushed back to May 1 for virtually all filers in the area.
Weather authorities say Helene has been the most damaging storm to hit since Hurricane Katrina. | Photo: Shuttersotck

In a move intended to help restaurants and other businesses affected by Hurricane Helene, the Internal Revenue Service is pushing back the tax-filing deadline for establishments in much of the Southeast to May 1.

Tax returns and payments will not be required of businesses and residents in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 41 counties in Florida, eight in Tennessee and six in Virginia. 

Those filings include the quarterly payroll and excise taxes that would have otherwise been due on Oct. 31, 2024, and Jan. 1 and April 30 of 2025. Restaurants also have more time to pay the estimated income taxes that would have been due Jan. 15 and April 15. 

The delay does not apply to payments of 2023 taxes that were not paid on April 15 of this year because the filer was granted an extension. “Payments on these returns are not eligible for the extra time because they were due last spring before the hurricane occurred,” the IRS said. 

The agency announced the deferrals as authorities in states affected by the hurricane continue to assess the damages and search for survivors. At least 213 residents of those areas have been killed and hundreds more are still missing.

Cellphone service and electricity remain unavailable in much of the affected region, and authorities are already warning that federal relief funds could be stretched thin if more storms wallop the area. The official hurricane season still has two months left to run. 

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