Washington wildfire victims get tax relief

Individuals and businesses in parts of Washington state affected by wildfires that began last June 22 now have until early next year to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.   

The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Currently, this includes the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation in Washington state. Individuals and households that reside or have a business in these localities qualify for the relief.

The same relief will be available to any other localities added later to the disaster area. The current list of eligible localities is on the tax relief in disaster situations page on IRS.gov. 

The relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred beginning June 22, 2024, and ending on Feb. 3, 2025. Affected individuals and businesses have until next Feb. 3 to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period.

The February deadline will, for example now apply to: 

• Any individual, business or tax-exempt organization that has a valid extension to file their 2023 federal return. Payments on these returns are not eligible for the extra time because they were due last spring, before the fires.
• Quarterly estimated income tax payments normally due on Sept. 16, 2024, and Jan. 15, 2025.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on July 31, Oct. 31, 2024, and Jan. 31, 2025. 

Also, penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after June 22, 2024, and before July 8, 2024, will be abated as long as the deposits were made by July 8, 2024. 

The IRS 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 service automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an address of record in the disaster area. If an affected taxpayer does not have an address in the disaster area (because, for example, they moved to the area after filing their return), and they receive a late-filing or late-payment penalty notice from the IRS for the postponement period, they should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.

The IRS will work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but has records necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period in the affected area. Qualifying taxpayers who live outside the disaster area should call the IRS at (866) 562-5227, including workers assisting the relief activities who are with a recognized government or philanthropic organization. Tax preparers in the disaster area with clients who are outside the disaster area can use the Bulk Requests From Practitioners for Disaster Relief option 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 the loss occurred (in this instance, the 2024 return normally filed next year), or the return for the prior year (2023, filed this year).

Taxpayers have extra time — up to six months after the due date of the taxpayer's 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, 2025.

Taxpayers and tax preparers should write the FEMA declaration number, 4823-Dr, on any return claiming a loss.