There’s even more good news for the victims of severe flooding in Minnesota and North Dakota. Not only is the weather getting better but residents get some extra breathing room from IRS.
Since the flooding occurred so close to the April 15 due date, taxpayers and relief workers directly impacted by the flooding will have until May 15, 2009 to file and make payments for their 2008 returns. Taxpayers affected by the flood will not incur late filing or payment fees and interest. To take advantage of the extension, affected taxpayers should mark paper tax returns with the words “severe storms, flooding.” Taxpayers who file their returns electronically can use the “disaster” feature in the software, if available.
This relief applies to flood victims in Clay, Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Polk, Traverse and Wilkin counties in Minnesota.
It also applies to the following counties and Indian Reservations in North Dakota: Adams, Barnes, Benson, Billings, Burleigh, Cass, Cavalier, Dickey, Dunn, Emmons, Foster, Grand Forks, Grant, Hettinger, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Morton, Nelson, Oliver, Pembina, Ramsey, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Sioux, Stark, Stutsman, Walsh, and Williams counties, and Standing Rock and Spirit Lake Indian reservations
And, of course, if you are affected by the flooding, our thoughts are with you.
Not a lot was done right after Hurricane Katrina but Congress did step in with some disaster relief that include tax breaks for victims and tax incentives for those to give to charities assisting victims. Congress passed similar legislation for victims of other disaster areas, including those who suffered through catastrophic hurricanes and tornados.
Why re-invent the wheel? Today, lawmakers from five Midwestern states introduced a similar measure in Congress to aid victims of the recent violent storms and flooding.
If the plan passes, it would allow disaster victims take money out of retirement plans without paying a tax penalty – the money would presumably be used for home repairs and other necessities not covered by FEMA. The bill would also give tax breaks to businesses that suffered losses and, most significantly in an era of “charity burnout” encourage more taxpayers to make donations to charities.
As written, the plan would apply to those areas declared federal disaster areas in the midwest and in the south. This includes areas in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
The IRS had already granted disaster relief for taxpayers in affected areas of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wisconsin for the most recent storms. Earlier this spring, the IRS extended similar relief to storm victims in parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma.
