Who is eligible and requirements to obtain tax relief from the IRS if you have been affected by inclement weather

Tax Day, which was 15 April, may have passed but if you are one of the American taxpaers who hasn’t gotten your 2024 filing in yet, the Internal Revenue Service advises that you do so as soon as possible to avoid penalties and fines. However, due to severe weather and other disasters some taxpayers have been given an automatic extension.

Currently, in 2025, residents in four states and those that were impacted by wildfires in Los Angeles County have been given more time to deal with their taxes by the IRS. The extensions range from 15 October to 3 November 2025, to file a tax declaration and pay any taxes due.

Who gets the longest tax extension?

The biggest relief goes to residents of Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee, where severe storms, flooding and tornadoes struck starting April 2. The IRS announced that everyone in those three states now has until November 3, 2025 to file and pay any federal taxes that were originally due before then.

Also qualifying for the November 3 deadline: parts of West Virginia, specifically the counties of Boone, Greenbrier, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne, and Wyoming.

You don’t need to do anything to claim the extension if your IRS address of record is in one of those areas. It’s automatic.

What is the California tax extension?

California’s disaster extension is more limited. It only applies to those in Los Angeles County, and only for those impacted by the January wildfires. If that’s you, the IRS says you now have until October 15, 2025, to file and pay.

What if you’re outside these areas?

If you’re not in a disaster zone, your deadline was still April 15 – unless you requested an automatic extension, which gives you until October 15 to file. But keep in mind: that only delays your paperwork. Any taxes are owed still had to be paid by April 15 to avoid penalties or interest.

Why does the IRS provide automatic tax extensions?

Storms don’t just knock out power lines. They delay businesses, wreck homes, and make it hard to find the time (or paperwork) to file taxes. The IRS regularly postpones deadlines when natural disasters hit, and in 2025, that means millions of Americans now have a little breathing room.

If you’re in one of the affected areas, you don’t need to call the IRS or fill out special forms. Just check that your address on file is inside one of the counties listed, and take the time you need.

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