Tennessee, Arkansas weather victims get tax relief

Benjamin Krain/Photographer: Benjamin Krain/Get

Individuals and businesses in all of Tennessee and Arkansas who were affected by severe storms, tornadoes, flooding and, in Tennessee, by straight-line winds that began on April 2, now have until Nov. 3 to file various federal individual and business returns and make tax payments.

The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; individuals and households that reside or have a business in Tennessee's 95 counties or the 75 counties of Arkansas qualify for it. The current list of eligible localities is on the IRS Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page.

The relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred from April 2, 2025, through Nov. 3, 2025. Affected individuals and businesses will have until Nov. 3, 2025, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period, including:

• Individual income tax returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2025.
• 2024 contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts for eligible taxpayers.
• Quarterly estimated tax payments normally due on April 15, June 16 and Sept. 15, 2025.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on April 30, July 31 and Oct. 31, 2025.
• Calendar-year corporation and fiduciary returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2025.
• Calendar-year tax-exempt organization returns normally due on May 15, 2025.

Penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after April 2 and before April 17, 2025, will also be abated if the deposits are made by April 17, 2025.
The Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses page has details on other returns, payments and tax-related actions qualifying for relief during the postponement period. 

The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record in the disaster area. These taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to get this relief.

An affected taxpayer may not have an address of record in the area because, for example, they moved to the area after filing their return. If an affected taxpayer in those circumstances receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the agency for the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the IRS Special Services at (866) 562-5227 to update their address and request disaster tax relief. 

(Read more: Areas across the country qualify for natural disaster-related tax relief.)

In addition, the IRS will work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but whose records necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period are in the affected area. Taxpayers qualifying for relief who live outside the disaster area need to contact the IRS Special Services toll-free number above. This also includes workers providing relief activities and who are affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization.

Disaster area tax preparers with clients outside the disaster area can choose to use the Bulk Requests from Practitioners for Disaster Relief option, which is described on IRS.gov. 

Individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the return for the year when the loss occurred (in this instance, the 2025 return normally filed next year), or the return for the prior year (2024). Taxpayers have up to six months after the due date of their federal income tax return for the disaster year (without regard to any extension of time to file) to make the election. For individual taxpayers, this means Oct. 15, 2026. (Read more on personal casualty loss deductions.)

Write the FEMA declaration number — 3625-EM for Tennessee, 3627-EM for Arkansas — on any return claiming a loss.