On August 6, 2018, the IRS announced tax relief for the victims of wildfires and high winds in North California [see notice here]. The relief comes about because the president has declared that a major disaster exists.
The IRS has adopted procedures and streamlined the way this relief comes out because they’ve had to deal with it year-after-year as natural disasters are occurring around the country in a more frequent basis. They can’t take away your responsibility to file and pay your taxes, but they can give you additional time to do so without having a penalty. The things to pay attention to are the dates for the relief and the Covered Disaster Areas.
The IRS postpones certain deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster are for tax deadlines that fall within a specific date range. In this case, the dates are for certain deadlines falling after July 23, 2018 and before November 30, 2018. This means most federal tax deadlines falling between this date range are now granted an additional extension through November 30, 2018.
The Covered Disaster Area is currently listed as Shasta County.
Keep an eye on their website for updates. The IRS will frequently update these lists as more counties are added or as the natural disaster continues.
Also, if you are in any disaster area, remember that the IRS has resources to help make it a little easier for you to keep up with your tax responsibilities. Check out their Disaster Assistance website for more information.