IRS extends tax deadlines and lifts dyed diesel fuel penalties for Hurricane Ian victims in Florida.

Hurricane Ian slammed into the Florida coast last week, leaving a trail of destruction that resulted in more than a million without power and 81 confirmed dead. The Internal Revenue Service announced tax relief and dyed diesel fuel penalty relief for storm victims following a disaster declaration for the entire state by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  

These relief measures are designed to make disaster recovery easier by delaying upcoming tax-related deadlines and helping emergency workers operate in affected areas. Tax relief is automatically granted to individual residents and business owners in affected areas; dyed diesel fuel penalty relief is available to sellers and emergency-vehicle operators who pay the highway diesel tax.  

What deadlines are affected by Hurricane Ian tax relief?

The Florida tax relief delays some individual and business deadlines beginning on September 23, 2022, until February 15, 2023. While the “Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses” page on IRS.gov includes information about the affected deadlines, the agency listed the following affected deadlines in its news release:

• October 17, 2022, individual extension filing deadline (does not apply to tax payments due April 18, 2022)
• October 17, 2022, calendar-year corporation extension filing deadline
• October 31, 2022, quarterly payroll and excise tax return deadline
• November 15, 2022, calendar-year tax-exempt organization extension filing deadline
• January 17, 2023, quarterly estimated income tax payment deadline
• January 31, 2023, quarterly payroll and excise tax return deadline

Further, the IRS says that “penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after September 23, 2022, and before October 10, 2022, will be abated as long as the deposits are made by October 10, 2022.”

While these new deadlines are automatically granted to those with “an IRS address of record located in the disaster area,” some individuals who live out of state may be able to qualify, like relief workers. They will need to call the IRS number used for disaster-related assistance: 866-562-5227.

How does the dyed diesel fuel penalty relief work?

Dyed diesel fuel is typically only approved for usage that is exempt from excise tax, like off-road farm vehicles and heating homes. To help emergency workers responding to the situation in Florida, the IRS lifted the penalty for fuel sellers and highway emergency vehicle operators.

In a Friday news release, the agency outlined specifics of this relief:

• This relief begins on September 28, 2022, and will remain in effect through October 19, 2022
• The relief is available only if the operator or the person selling such fuel pays the tax of 24.4 cents per gallon that is normally applied to diesel fuel for highway use
• The IRS will not impose penalties for failure to make semimonthly deposits of tax for dyed diesel fuel sold for use or used in an emergency vehicle on the highway in the state of Florida during the relief period

For more information about tax reporting and payment, see “Publication 510, Excise Taxes.”

Want to learn more about hurricane season preparedness strategies?

Read our blog covering recent IRS tips for protecting data and rebuilding records: "Prepare Now to Be Ready for Hurricane Season."

Sources: “Hurricane Ian updates: Florida death toll climbs,” ABCNews.go.com; “Ian recovery efforts in the Southeast will be complicated: Live updates,” NPR.org; IR-2022-168; IR-2022-169