All last week, as we all prepared for the oncoming wrath of Hurricane Irma, I was confident that everyone in Florida could expect the same kind of official extensions of time from IRS to file tax returns that had their first extension expiring in the next few months. 

While this was mainly 2016 1040s, even more pressing are the extensions for pass-through entities, such as LLCs, Partnerships, Trusts and S-Corps, which have extended deadlines of September 15, 2017 for their 2016 tax returns.  In the “old days” filing any of these tax returns late wasn’t a big deal because late penalties were only based on the amount of taxes due, and as pass-through entities, they had no taxes and thus no late penalties.  However this was changed a number of years ago and nowadays IRS is very aggressive in assessing late filing penalties of hundreds of dollars per month per K-1.  These frequently grow into thousands of dollars.

Since Sept 15 is fast approaching, for the past few days, I have been checking the IRS news page for an announcement similar to the one they had for Hurricane Harvey, giving all those affected by Irma more time to file their 2016 tax returns.  Until just a short while ago, the only Irma affected territory mentioned as having filing relief were parts of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

IRS has just released this news release, announcing the expansion of the list of areas that have been granted official deadline extensions due to Hurricane Irma disruptions.

As of right now (2:50 pm on 9/12/17) The IRS’s list of affected Florida areas only includes 16 counties.  Since the evacuation order, preparation and the actual storm included all 67 counties here in Florida, IRS will need to expand that list.  According to the IRS description, it’s a function of what they are told by FEMA.  While not all 67 counties were hit as hard as some others, most were affected by the storm.  Even people who didn’t have any actual storm damage, but heeded the Governor’s pleas to get the hell out of Florida, are going to need a lot of time to get back to their normal lives after returning to their homes.  

I can only assume that the IRS’s official list of affected Florida counties will grow over the next few days or weeks.  Rather than list 60 to 65 county names, they may just take the simpler route and include the entire State of Florida.

[Update 9/14/2017] – I noticed a few more Florida counties being added yesterday to the IRS’s list.  As of just before Noon today, their list of affected counties is up to 37, including Citrus, where we are located.  As more hurricane damage is discovered and reported up the chain of command (FEMA, et al), this list will continue to grow.

[Update 9/15/2017] – The list of affected Florida counties is now up to 46.  Just 21 more to include the entire state.

[Update 9/16/2017] – The IRS list of affected Florida counties has now been changed to “This represents all 67 counties of Florida.”

[Update 9/20/2017] – IRS has just declared that Georgia taxpayers and preparers are also eligible for the special 1/31/18 extended filing deadline due to Hurricane Irma.