The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced tax relief for individuals and businesses in Mississippi that were affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding that began on April 8, 2024. These taxpayers now have until Nov. 1, 2024, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

Following the disaster declaration issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), individuals and households that reside or have a business in Hancock, Hinds, Humphreys, Madison, Neshoba, and Scott counties qualify for tax relief.

The declaration permits the IRS to postpone certain tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area. For instance, certain deadlines falling on or after April 8, 2024, and before Nov. 1, 2024, are granted additional time to file through Nov. 1, 2024. As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until Nov. 1, 2024, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period.

The Nov. 1, 2024, deadline applies to individual income tax returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2024. This deadline also applies to any payment normally due during this period, including the quarterly estimated tax payment due on April 15, 2024, June 17, 2024, and Sept. 16, 2024, and the quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on April 30, 2024, July 31, 2024, and Oct. 31, 2024.

In addition, penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after April 8, 2024, and before April 23, 2024, will be abated as long as the tax deposits were made by April 23, 2024. In addition, the Nov. 1, 2024, deadline also applies to 2023 contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts for eligible taxpayers, calendar-year corporation and fiduciary returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2024, and calendar year tax-exempt organization returns normally due on May 15, 2024.

If an affected taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original filing, payment or deposit due date that falls within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the telephone number on the notice to have the IRS abate the penalty.

The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies filing and payment relief. But affected taxpayers who reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area should call the IRS disaster hotline at 866-562-5227 to request this tax relief. Disaster area tax preparers with clients located outside the disaster area can choose to use the bulk requests from practitioners for disaster relief option, described on IRS.gov.

RESPONSE FROM MDOR: We are not going to issue a blanket waiver for this extension at this time. There are only six counties included in this relief and we can handle any impacted taxpayer located within these counties on a case by case basis. An impacted taxpayer that receives a penalty notice should contact our office and request relief.

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Credit: IRS; MS-2024-11, June 27, 2024