WASHINGTON, D.C. – JANUARY 03: The U.S. Flag flys above the International Revenue Service headquarters building on January 3, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Taxpayers living in Cook County are reminded that a deadline extension, offered after flooding impacted the Chicago area last summer, will soon expire.
According to the IRS, the new deadline for specific types of tax filing and payments will arrive on Feb. 15 for businesses and households that were impacted by the severe storms and flooding in Cook County over the summer.
Federal officials issued a disaster declaration for Cook County following that flooding, meaning that many tax payments that originally were due between Sept. 17, 2023 and Feb. 15 of this year will be due on the new date of Feb. 15.
Impacted individuals include those who had a valid extension to file their 2022 tax returns. That extension was supposed to run out on Oct. 16, but was instead moved to Feb. 15, 2024 after the disaster-related extension was announced.
The IRS does point out that since tax payments for 2022 returns were due on April 18, 2023, those payments are not eligible for relief. The new February deadline is only an extension for filing, not for payment, meaning that fees and penalties could still apply.
Individuals who pay their taxes on a quarterly basis in the impacted areas also had a deadline altered by the disaster relief action, with the original due date of Jan. 16 being moved to Feb. 15.
Businesses that had quarterly payroll and excise tax returns due on Oct. 31, 2023 and Jan. 31, 2024 were also granted an extension to Feb. 15.
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Calendar-year corporations whose 2022 extensions ran out on Oct. 16, 2023 and calendar-year tax-exempt organizations whose extensions ran out on Nov. 15 are also eligible.
According to the press release, the IRS automatically identifies taxpayers within the disaster area and applies filing and payment relief when required.
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If a taxpayer receives a late-filing or late payment penalty that has an original due date within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the IRS to abate the penalty.
Impacted taxpayers who resident outside of Cook County or have a business located outside the disaster area should call the disaster relief hotline at 866-562-5227 for information about potential relief.
