Katrina victims will have until January 3 to file and pay taxes

WASHINGTON — Victims of Hurricane Katrina will have until Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006 to file any returns, pay any taxes or make any deposits due. This extends and expands relief granted previously by the IRS and is available in all the counties and parishes listed in IRS news release IR-2005-91. It applies to any return, tax payment or tax deposit with an original or extended due date that fell on or after Aug. 29, 2005. The IRS will abate interest and any late filing, late payment or failure to deposit penalties that would otherwise apply. This relief includes the Sept. 15 due date for estimated taxes and for calendar-year corporate returns with automatic extensions; the Oct. 17 deadline for individuals who received a second extension for filing their individual income tax returns; and the Oct. 31 deadline for filing quarterly federal employment and excise tax returns. To the maximum extent possible, the IRS will automatically grant this relief to any individual or business located in the disaster area. Any disaster area taxpayer who receives a penalty notice from the IRS should call the toll-free number on the notice to receive penalty abatement. In addition, the IRS will work with any taxpayer who resides elsewhere but whose books, records or tax professional are located in the relief area. In the aftermath of this natural disaster, the IRS assures individuals, businesses and tax professionals that it is working aggressively to monitor the situation and resolve other potential tax administration issues as they are identified. For more information, visit IRS.gov or call the IRS disaster hotline at 1-866-562-5227.