IRS provides relief on filing deadlines due to storms

• Advocate staff report
• Published: Oct 12, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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The Internal Revenue Service is providing relief on some filing deadlines for individuals and small-business owners located in designated parishes affected by hurricanes Gustav and Ike. 

The IRS is postponing until Jan. 5 deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area. The postponement applies to return filing, tax payment and other time-sensitive acts otherwise due between Sept. 1 and Jan. 5. 

The postponement included individual estimated tax payments that were due Sept. 15, corporate extended 1120 tax returns that were due Sept. 15 and extended 1040 tax returns that are due Oct. 15. 

Taxpayers qualify for the relief if they reside in or have a business in Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Cameron, Calcasieu, Catahoula, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Franklin, Evangeline, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, LaSalle, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Point Coupee, Rapides, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana. 

IRS computer systems automatically identify taxpayers in the covered area and apply automatic filing and payment relief.  Affected taxpayers who live or have a business outside the disaster area must call the IRS disaster hot line at (866) 562-5227 to request tax relief. 

Affected taxpayers in a declared disaster area have the option of claiming disaster-related casualty losses on their federal income tax return for either this year or last year. 

For details on figuring a casualty loss deduction, see IRS Publication 547, “Casualties, Disasters and Thefts.” The IRS will waive the usual fees and expedite requests for copies of previously filed tax returns for affected taxpayers. 

Taxpayers should put the assigned disaster designation in red ink at the top of Form 4506, Request for copy of Tax Return, or Form 4506-T, Request for transcript of Tax Return, as appropriate, and submit it to the IRS. 

Taxpayers may download forms and publications from the official IRS Web site, http://www. irs.gov, or order them by calling (800) 829-3676. The IRS toll-free number for  tax questions is (800) 829-1040.