The IRS recently announced tax relief for individuals and businesses located in the city of St. Louis and St. Louis and Scott counties in Missouri after an EF3 tornado caused widespread destruction on May 16.
These taxpayers now have until Nov. 3, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments as a result of the Federal Emergency Management Agency declaring the area a disaster.
The Nov. 3 tax deadline for residents and business owners in St. Louis and St. Louis and Scott counties also applies to 2024 contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts. This relief also applies to the estimated tax payments normally due on June 16, and Sept. 15, 2025. Penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after May 16, 2025, and before June 2, 2025, will be abated as long as the tax deposits were made by June 2, 2025, the IRS said. In addition, the Nov. 3 deadline also applies to affected businesses extending the quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on July 31 and Oct. 31, 2025.
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If an affected taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original filing, payment, or deposit due date that falls within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the telephone number on the notice to have the IRS abate the penalty.
The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies filing and payment relief. But affected taxpayers who reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area should call the IRS Special Services toll-free number at (866) 562-5227 to request this tax relief. Tax practitioners in the covered disaster area, who maintain records necessary to meet a filing or payment deadline for taxpayers located outside the disaster area, may contact IRS Special Services; if the practitioner maintains the necessary records of 10 or more clients, the IRS said to refer to Bulk requests from practitioners for disaster relief for additional guidance.
Affected taxpayers
Taxpayers considered to be affected taxpayers eligible for the postponement of time to file returns, pay taxes, and perform other time-sensitive acts are those taxpayers listed in Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(d)(1), and include individuals who live, and businesses (including tax-exempt organizations) whose principal place of business is located, in the covered disaster area. Taxpayers not in the covered disaster area but whose records necessary to meet a deadline listed in Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(c) are in the covered disaster area, are also entitled to relief. In addition, all relief workers affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization assisting in the relief activities in the covered disaster area and any individual visiting the covered disaster area who was killed or injured as a result of the disaster are entitled to relief.
Under Section 7508A of the tax code, the IRS can give affected taxpayers until Nov. 3, 2025, to file most tax returns (including individual, corporate, and estate and trust income tax returns; partnership returns, S corporation returns, and trust returns; estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns; annual information returns of tax-exempt organizations; and employment and certain excise tax returns) that have either an original or extended due date occurring on or after May 16 and before Nov. 3, 2025.
Estimated income tax payments originally due on or after May 16, 2025, are postponed through Nov. 3, 2025, and affected taxpayers won’t be subject to penalties for failure to pay estimated tax installments as long as such payments are paid on or before Nov. 3, 2025, the IRS says.
The IRS also gives affected taxpayers until Nov. 3, 2025, to perform other time-sensitive actions described in Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(c)(1) and Revenue Procedure 2018-58 that are due to be performed on or after May 16, 2025, and before Nov. 3, 2025.
Under the relief, Form 5500 series returns that were required to be filed on or after March 14, 2025, and before Nov. 3, 2025, are postponed through Nov. 3, 2025, in the manner described in Section 8 of Rev. Proc. 2018-58. The relief described in Section 17 of Rev. Proc. 2018-58, pertaining to like-kind exchanges of property, also applies to certain taxpayers who aren’t otherwise affected taxpayers and may include acts required to be performed before or after the period above.
Unless an act is specifically listed in Rev. Proc. 2018-58, the postponement of time to file and pay doesn’t apply to information returns in the W-2, 1094, 1095, 1097, 1098 or 1099 series; to Forms 1042-S, 3921, 3922 or 8027; or to employment and excise tax deposits. However, penalties on deposits due on or after May 16, 2025, and before June 2, 2025, will be abated as long as the tax deposits were made by June 2.
Casualty losses
Affected taxpayers in a federally declared disaster area have the option of claiming disaster-related casualty losses on their federal income tax return for either the year in which the event occurred (the 2025 return normally filed next year) or the prior year (the 2024 return 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, 2026. See Publication 547 for details.
Individuals may deduct personal property losses that aren’t covered by insurance or other reimbursements. For details, see Form 4684, Casualties and Thefts and its instructions. Affected taxpayers claiming the disaster loss on their return should put the FEMA disaster declaration number, 4877-DR, on any return. See Publication 547 for details.
Payment agreements
For taxpayers in an installment agreement or payment plan, reminder notices will continue to be issued, and direct debits will continue. Missed payments won’t cause an agreement to default during the postponement period.
This means that an agreement will remain in effect, even if they wait until Nov. 3, 2025, to make any payments that were due between May 16, 2025, and Nov. 3, 2025. However, the usual interest and late-payment penalty charges will continue to accrue during this period.
Taxpayers who wish to suspend direct debit payments should contact IRS Special Services toll-free number at (866) 562-5227 or their bank for assistance.
Other relief
The IRS will waive the usual fees for requests for copies of previously filed tax returns for affected taxpayers. Taxpayers should put the assigned FEMA declaration number (4877-DR), in bold letters at the top of Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, or Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return, as appropriate, and submit it to the IRS.
Qualified disaster relief payments are generally excluded from gross income. This means that affected taxpayers can exclude from their gross income amounts received from a government agency for reasonable and necessary personal, family, living, or funeral expenses, as well as for the repair or rehabilitation of their home, or for the repair or replacement of its contents. You can exclude this amount only to the extent any expense it pays for isn’t paid for by insurance or otherwise. See Publication 525 for more information.
Additional relief may be available to affected taxpayers who participate in a retirement plan or individual retirement arrangement. For example, a taxpayer may be eligible to take a special disaster distribution that would not be subject to the additional 10% early distribution tax and that the taxpayer may take into income over three years. See Form 8915-F, Qualified Disaster Retirement Plan Distributions and Repayments and Disaster relief frequently asked questions: Retirement plans and IRAs under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. Taxpayers may also be eligible to make a hardship withdrawal. Each plan or IRA has specific rules and guidance for their participants to follow.
For anyone affected by a natural disaster, the government may further extend the due date for filing the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. Be sure to review relevant FBAR relief notices for complete information.
The IRS said it may provide additional disaster relief in the future.
Taxpayers who don’t qualify for disaster tax relief may qualify for reasonable cause penalty abatement. See Penalty relief for reasonable cause for additional information.
Affected taxpayers who are contacted by the IRS on a collection or examination matter should explain how the disaster impacts them so that the agency can provide appropriate consideration to their case. Taxpayers may download forms and publications from the IRS website.
Photo caption: Curtis McGrath retrieves some personal papers, photos, and clothes from his home of 18 years on Enright Avenue on May 17, 2025, in the Academy neighborhood of St. Louis. The National Weather Service has confirmed that it was a tornado that hit St. Louis the day before. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS)
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Tags: Income Taxes, IRS, Missouri, natural disasters, Small Business, St. Louis, Taxes
