The images and stories to come out of Joplin, Missouri over the past week have been heartbreaking. The death toll is now estimated to be 132 with an additional 156 people unaccounted for as yet.
With all of the sadness, loss and disruptions facing the folks in Joplin, the last thing they need to be worried about is taxes. The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it is giving victims additional time to meet their tax obligations. Any individual and business taxpayer in Jasper County or other parts of Missouri (Butler, Cape Girardeau, Howell, Jasper, McDonald, Mississippi, New Madrid, Newton, Pulaski, Ripley, Scott, Stoddard, Stone, St. Louis and Taney counties) affected by the series of storms that began on April 19 may have additional time to file. The IRS is granting affected taxpayers until August 1, 2011, to file their tax returns and pay any taxes due. This includes federal income tax estimated payments for the second quarter that would have normally been due on June 15, 2011. Additionally, federal employment and excise tax deposits due on or after May 22 for affected taxpayers in Jasper County are now due June 6, 2011.
Relief is also available for victims of other recent storms. Generally, if you qualify for relief and you receive a penalty notice from the IRS, call the telephone number on the notice to have the IRS abate any interest and any late filing or late payment penalties that would otherwise apply.
Additionally, affected taxpayers in a federally declared disaster area may be able to claim a casualty loss related to the disaster on a federal income tax return. A casualty loss is the result of “the damage, destruction or loss of your property from any sudden, unexpected, or unusual event such as a flood, hurricane, tornado, fire, earthquake or even volcanic eruption.” Damage due to normal wear and tear or age doesn’t qualify for relief.
Generally, you claim a casualty loss for property damage not covered by insurance or reimbursement in the year the disaster occurs. However, if the loss is in a federally declared disaster area, you may choose to treat the loss as having occurred in the year immediately preceding the tax year in which the disaster happened by filing an amended return. For details, see federal form 4684 (downloads as pdf) and the accompanying instructions (downloads as pdf). For specific assistance with the form, contact your tax professional or call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040.
Additional relief may be available as follows:
- Victims of flooding beginning May 3, 2011 in parts of Mississippi (Adams, Bolivar, Claiborne, Coahoma, DeSoto, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jefferson, Sharkey, Tunica, Warren, Washington, Wilkinson, and Yazoo counties) may qualify for tax relief. Affected individual and business taxpayers with an original or extended filing or payment due date falling on or after May 3 and on or before July 5 may be eligible for an extension to July 5, 2011. Additionally, the IRS is waiving the failure-to-deposit penalties for employment and excise tax deposits due on or after May 3 and on or before May 18, 2011, as long as the deposits were made by May 18, 2011.
- Victims of severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and associated flooding on April 27, 2011 in parts of Georgia (Bartow, Catoosa, Cherokee, Coweta, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Greene, Harris, Habersham, Heard, Lamar, Lumpkin, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Pickens, Polk, Rabun, Spalding, Troup, Upson, Walker and White Counties) may qualify for tax relief. Affected individual and business taxpayers with an original or extended filing or payment due date falling on or after April 27 and on or before June 30 have been postponed to June 30. Additionally, the IRS is waiving the failure-to-deposit penalties for employment and excise tax deposits due on or after April 27 and on or before May 12, 2011, as long as the deposits were made by May 12, 2011.
- Victims of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding beginning April 22, 2011 in parts of Kentucky (Ballard, Boyd, Crittenden, Daviess, Graves, Hardin, Henderson, Hickman, Jefferson, Lawrence, Livingston, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Pike, Union, and Webster counties) may qualify for tax relief. Affected individual and business taxpayers with an original or extended filing or payment due date falling on or after April 22 and on or before June 30 have been postponed to June 30, 2011. Additionally, the IRS is waiving the failure-to-deposit penalties for employment and excise tax deposits due on or after April 22 and on or before May 9, 2011, as long as the deposits were made by May 9, 2011.
- Relief is also available for victims of severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding on April 19, 2011 and on April 25, 2011 in Tennessee; victims of severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and associated flooding on April 23, 2011 in Arkansas; victims of severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and associated flooding on April 15, 2011 in Mississippi; victims severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding on April 15, 2011 in Alabama; victims of severe storms, tornadoes and straight-line winds on April 14, 2011 in Oklahoma; and victims of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding on April 16, 2011 in my home state of North Carolina.
Gosh. When you see it all spelled out like that, it kind of takes your breath away. So many communities across our country have been affected over the past month by dangerous weather. If you want to help, there are a number of organizations offering assistance. Be generous but be smart.
The Red Cross has launched 30 relief operations in 23 states since March 31 to assist natural disaster victims in the U.S. If you want to make a donation, you can visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS; you can also text the word “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be sent to local American Red Cross chapters or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Gifts donated to the American Red Cross are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.
If you prefer to support relief efforts through another organization, be sure to check with IRS to confirm its tax deductible status if the deduction is important to you.
