California Corner: San Diego County Storm Relief Postpones Filing Deadlines to June 17, 2024
Federal Notice: IR-2024-51, February 27, 2024
IRS notice IR-2024-51 postpones tax year 2023 tax filing and tax payment obligations for residents and businesses of San Diego County as “federally declared disaster areas” due to severe storms and flooding that began on Jan. 21, 2024. California conforms to the June 17 filing and payment date.
Other Counties Coming? The same relief will be available to any other California localities added later to the disaster area. The current list of eligible localities is always available on the disaster relief page on IRS.gov. Although not yet designated, watch for Southern California Counties to be designated and granted filing postponements.
Individuals. Tax year 2023 individual income tax returns originally due April 15, 2024, are now due June 17, 2024, for taxpayers in declared California counties. Other individual deadlines extended to June 17, 2024, include 2023 contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts. Individual first quarter quarterly estimated tax payments, originally due April 15, may also be paid by June 17, 2024, without interest or penalty.
Businesses.This IRS disaster relief, under §7508A, also applies to many business tax returns. Business taxpayers in San Diego County have until June 17, 2024, to file most business tax returns including employment tax, C corporation, S corporation, partnership, non-profit, trust, estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns that have either an original or extended due date occurring on or after January 21, 2024, and before June 17, 2024.
Affected taxpayers that have payments related to any of the above business or other tax filings originally due on or after January 21, 2024, and before June 17, 2024, are postponed until June 17, 2024, and will not be subject to penalties or interest for failure to pay as long as such payments are paid on or before June 17, 2024.
Payroll Tax and Form 1099-NEC & Form 1099-MISC. The IRS notice indicates the June 17, 2024 deadline also applies to quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on January 31 and April 30, 2024. Penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after January 21, 2024, and before February 5, 2024, will be abated as long as the deposits were made by February 5, 2024. Payroll tax deposits due after February 5, 2024, are still due timely.
Other Federal Tax and Time Sensitive Deadlines. The IRS also gives affected taxpayers until June 17, 2024, to perform other time-sensitive actions described in Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(c)(1) and Rev. Proc. 2018-58, 2018-50 IRB 990 (December 10, 2018), that are due to be performed on or after January 21, 2024, and before June 17, 2024. Rev. Proc. 2018-58, 139 pages, consists primarily of lists of all actions eligible for postponement related to a federally declared disaster, such as 1031 exchange (see Section 6 and Section 17), S corporation elections, tax court and bankruptcy deadlines, etc.
IRS Collections and Audits
Affected taxpayers who are contacted by the IRS on a collection or examination matter should explain how the disaster impacts them so that the IRS can provide appropriate consideration to their case.
Determining Eligible Taxpayers & Businesses
The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area, based on the zip code of the address. Therefore, taxpayers do not need to contact the IRS to get this relief.
In addition, all relief workers affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization assisting in the relief activities in the covered disaster area and any individual visiting the covered disaster area who was killed or injured as a result of the disaster are entitled to relief.
Penalties & Interest
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 falling within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.
Business or individual taxpayers who are unable to meet the new expanded postponement deadlines due to specific circumstances related to this federally declared disaster may also request additional penalty abatement from the IRS for reasonable cause. Generally, the IRS will not waive interest on tax payment obligations even if the related penalty is waived.
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