IRS offers tax relief for North Carolinians impacted by Tropical Storm Debby

NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) -- The Internal Revenue Service announced Friday that it will provide some tax relief for North Carolina residents and businesses affected by Tropical Storm Debby.

Those taxpayers now have until Feb. 3 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 Alamance, Alleghany, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Cabarrus, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Davie, Davidson, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Iredell, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Rowan, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Tyrrell, Union, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wilkes, Wilson and Yadkin 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 example, certain deadlines falling on or after Aug. 5 and before Feb. 3 are granted additional time to file through Feb. 3.

The Feb. 3, 2025, filing deadline applies to:

People who had filed for an extension for their 2023 returns. Predictably, however, the relief does not extend to payments due.
Businesses with an original or extended due date include, among others, calendar-year partnerships and S corporations whose 2023 extensions run out on Sept. 16, and calendar-year corporations whose 2023 extensions run out on Oct. 15.

The Feb. 3 deadline also applies to any payment normally due during this period, including the quarterly estimated tax payments due on Sept. 16, and Jan. 15, and the quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31, and Jan. 31.

The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster areas who qualify. However, affected taxpayers who live in 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.