If you follow me on social media, thanks. And thanks especially for putting up with my whining about the recent cold spell here in Central Texas.
To be honest, it’s nothing like the prolonged freezes of a few years ago. I also realize that other parts of the Lone Star State and the country are dealing with much worse winter scenarios.
And then there’s California, which is still experiencing flareups in the Los Angeles area.
Some of the people coping with these recent disasters are getting help from Uncle Sam. In the California fires, that includes later tax due dates for some of this year’s tax deadlines, as well as for filing 2024 returns and paying any due taxes.
2023 filings due Feb. 3: But another deadline is coming up for folks who were in the way of an irate Mother Nature last year. Some of these folks had their 2023 tax filings postponed until this year.
Their tax due date is fast approaching.
Individual and business taxpayers who qualified for the extended filing deadline for their 2023 tax year returns must finish those filings by Feb. 3.
This Feb. 3 deadline applies to taxpayers in 14 states and two U.S. territories.
It covers filers in all of Louisiana and Vermont, as well as those in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The early February deadline for filing extended 2023 returns also applies to taxpayers in parts of
- Arizona,
- Connecticut,
- Illinois,
- Kentucky,
- Minnesota,
- Missouri,
- Montana,
- New York,
- Pennsylvania,
- South Dakota,
- Texas, and
- Washington state.
The linked jurisdictions above go to the special Internal Revenue Service online pages with details on the available disaster tax relief.
Disaster loss claim timing: The catastrophes in 2023 that prompted the major disaster declarations and subsequent tax relief are varied, but in addition to their devastation, they share a tax component.
When disaster-affected taxpayers do get their lives back in some order and start thinking about taxes, the IRS reminds them that they may be able to deduct some disaster losses. This itemized claim is available for damaged or destroyed property not covered by insurance or other reimbursement.
Claiming the loss can result in a larger refund, particularly if you maximize it by choosing the best tax year in which to make the claim. When it comes to disaster casualty losses, taxpayers can choose to claim it on either the return for the year the loss occurred or on the return for the prior year, which is their 2024 return.
It takes some time to determine which tax year claim is more beneficial. But it’s generally worth the effort.
If the disaster loss claim applies to your situation, run the numbers for each potential tax year filing to see which produces the more favorable tax result. My post on considerations in making a major disaster tax claim has more. So does IRS Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts.
And if it affects your tax filing that’s coming due on Feb. 3 deadline, make to claim the tax break on that return. And definitely don’t miss the deadline, regardless of what’s on your disaster-delayed Form 1040.
You also might find these items of interest:
- Biden signs disaster relief bill that took more than a year to clear Congress
- IRS and other government resources can help you deal with a natural disaster
- Taxpayers in 24 states and 2 territories facing disaster-delayed 2023 filing deadlines
- Don’t Mess With Taxes’ Storm Warnings collection of disaster tax relief pages, from preparations to recovery to helping those in disaster areas
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