On October 1, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service published IRS Notice 2024-253 to provide tax relief for those affected by Hurricane Helene. The Office of Tax and Revenue (“OTR”) will also extend the tax filing and payment deadlines for affected individuals and businesses until May 1, 2025, as outlined in IRS Notice 2024-253.

Who Qualifies for OTR Tax Relief:

The IRS extends relief to certain taxpayers who are in any area designated by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) as a disaster area affected by Hurricane Helene. Besides all of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, the designated areas also include 41 counties in Florida, eight counties in Tennessee and six counties and one city in Virginia. The list of eligible localities is available on the Tax Relief page on IRS.gov. This relief applies to the following:

• Any individual and households who reside or have a business in any one of the eligible areas and localities qualify for the tax relief.

What Kind of Relief is Available:

Taxpayers who live or operate businesses in one of the eligible disaster areas are granted the following relief:

• Affected taxpayers who have filing and payment deadlines that occur beginning on September 22, 2024 in Alabama; September 23, 2024 in Florida; September 24, 2024 in Georgia; September 25, 2024 in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia; and September 26, 2024 in Tennessee, will have until May 1, 2025 to file returns and pay any taxes due that were originally due during the aforementioned periods.
• For example, the May 1, 2025 deadline will now apply to:
  • Tax year 2024 individual, estate, trust, fiduciary, partnership, corporate and unincorporated business franchise tax returns due on April 15, 2025.
  • Individual, estate, trust, fiduciary, partnership, corporation, and unincorporated business franchise taxpayers who have a valid extension to file their 2023 returns by October 15, 2024, and extended Combined Report returns by November 15, 2024, are granted an extension for filing only. No extension is provided for 2023 tax payments that were originally due last spring before Hurricane Helene occurred.
  • Taxpayers who had a valid extension to file their 2025 personal property tax returns (tax year ending June 30, 2025) by October 31, 2024, are given an extension for filing only. Because the 2025 personal property tax payment was due on July 31, 2024, this relief does not provide an extension for payment of the 2025 personal property tax for the tax year ending June 30, 2025.
  • This relief applies to individual, estate, trust, fiduciary, corporation and unincorporated business estimated tax payments.
    • 2024 quarterly estimated income tax payment normally due on Jan. 15, 2025 and 2025 estimated tax payments normally due on April 15, 2025.
• This relief will not cover District sales and use tax returns or District withholding.

How to Claim the Relief:

If filing by paper return, affected District taxpayers should write in bold letters at the top of the first page of the return “Hurricane Helene.”

If filing online, affected District taxpayers should attach a separate statement to their online District tax return indicating “Hurricane Helene.”

Taxpayers who have additional questions or are affected by Hurricane Helene and who filed electronically, and were charged penalties and interest for late filing, should contact OTR’s Customer Service Administration, e-Services unit at (202) 759-1946.