The IRS announced Oct. 12 that it has granted tax relief to certain victims of Hurricane Michael in Florida. The IRS action includes relief from penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Oct. 7, 2018, and before Oct. 22, 2018, which it says will be abated as long as the deposits are made by Oct. 22, 2018. The IRS says that individuals who live in or have a business in 16 Florida counties may qualify for the relief: Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla and Washington. Under the announcement, certain deadlines falling on or after Oct. 7, 2018, and before Feb. 28, 2019, are granted additional time to file through Feb. 28, 2019. This includes:
- taxpayers who had a valid extension to file their 2017 return due to run out on Oct. 15, 2018;
- the quarterly estimated income tax payments due on Jan. 15, 2019, and the quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31, 2018 and Jan. 31, 2019; and
- tax-exempt organizations that operate on a calendar-year basis that had an automatic extension due to run out on Nov. 15, 2018.