Tax Relief in Disaster Situations

For taxpayers impacted by a disaster, the tax code may provide necessary relief. The law permits the IRS to grant taxpayers affected by a federally declared disaster additional time to perform certain time sensitive acts, including filing returns and paying taxes when the original or extended due date of the return falls within the disaster period. In addition, affected individual and business taxpayers in a federally declared disaster area can more quickly obtain a refund by claiming losses related to the disaster on the tax return for the previous year, usually by filing an amended return. For more information on how to calculate and claim a disaster loss, please refer to Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters and Thefts, Form 4684 (PDF), Casualties and Thefts, and Publication 584, Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook (Personal-Use-Property). You may also refer to Publication 2194 (PDF), Disaster Resource Guide for Individuals and Businesses, or you may visit the IRS.gov website, Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses for a listing of covered disaster areas and tax relief provided in response to a federally declared disaster.

Source: Internal Revenue Service
Last reviewed: September 21, 2013