IRS, HUD Grant Texans Relief After Disaster Declaration

In response to the toll this month’s winter storms have taken on Texas and other states, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has extended many tax filing deadlines to June 15, 2021.

Separately, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced its own relief for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for those living in areas affected by the severe winter storm. Specifically, HUD has declared a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of FHA-insured home mortgages. HUD said that it will extend mortgage insurance to home owners whose properties have been destroyed. The mortgage insurance expansion can be used to purchase a new home or renovate a damaged one.

The IRS relief will automatically go to any taxpayer who resides or has a business within a federally declared disaster area. Those eligible will be allowed to postpone the following tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines to June 15:

• Individual and business income tax returns for tax year 2020 due April 15
• Fourth quarter estimated taxes due on April 15
• Quarterly payroll and excise taxes normally due April 30
• Tax-exempt organizations that operate on a calendar-year basis that have a 2020 return due May 17

In its release, the IRS said that although the state of Texas is the only declared disaster area as a result of the winter storm thus far, “taxpayers in other states impacted by these winter storms that receive similar FEMA disaster declarations will automatically receive the same filing and payment relief.”

The most up-to-date list of eligible localities can be found on the IRS disaster relief page.

For more details, view the IRS press release.