As normal tax time approaches, I wanted to remind those of you in the areas impacted by Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma or Rita make sure that you take advantage of all the tax relief benefits available. In February, the IRS further extended the due date for filings and payments. Previously, they were deferring everything until Feb 28th, 2006, but as that deadline approached, they lengthened the deferral period all the way to August 28, 2006. That means that if you are in the designated areas, you do not have to file any returns prior to that date, nor are you required to make any payments prior to that date. This includes any estimated tax payments for calendar year 2006 which would normally be payable on April 17, 2006 and June 15, 2006. There are many other provisions of the tax relief, so be sure to explore all the possible ways you can utilize the changes. Check the IRS website for complete details.
More IRS extensions The IRS has again extended the time to file and pay taxes for taxpayers in the Hurricane Katrina affected area. The new document at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-06-56.pdf seems to indicate that you can postpone filing and payment of 2005 personal income tax until October 16th, 2006. And, it also sounds like you can file for an extension, and get a longer amount of time to both file and pay, extended to April 15, 2007. Normally, filing an extension does not extend the time that payment is due, but it sure sounds like an extension in this case would allow you to postpone payment as well, without accruing interest or penalties.
