IRS provides Helene relief; AICPA seeks BOI, FBAR filing extensions

The IRS announced relief for taxpayers in all or part of seven states that Hurricane Helene damaged (IR-2024-253). The AICPA, which requested IRS relief in a comment letter, on Thursday also requested filing extensions from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) related to the filing of beneficial ownership information (BOI) and reports of foreign bank and financial accounts (FBAR) for major disaster victims.

The IRS is providing disaster relief for individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Helene, including all of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The relief also covers 41 counties in Florida, eight counties in Tennessee, and six counties and one city in Virginia.

Helene left many residents of the Southeast without water, power, or phone and internet service when it made landfall Sept. 26 on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 4 hurricane before barreling north. Deaths have been reported throughout the Southeast, with the majority in western North Carolina.

Taxpayers in these areas have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the IRS said in the news release. This relief includes 2024 individual and business tax returns normally due in March and April 2025; 2023 individual and corporate returns with valid extensions; and quarterly estimated tax payments.

In addition, in response to disruptions resulting from Hurricane Helene, the IRS provided in special news release IR-2024-254 that it will not impose a penalty when dyed diesel fuel with a sulfur content that does not exceed 15 parts per million is sold for use or used on the highway throughout Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and in the several counties in Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia.

AICPA advocacy on tax relief

In a letter to the IRS dated Oct. 1, the AICPA urged immediate filing and payment tax disaster relief for Helene victims, some of whom scrambled to meet tax deadlines during and after the storm.

“For example, one taxpayer who is without power due to Hurricane Helene yesterday needed to walk through the flooding to a local police station that is supported by a generator to print and sign a Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts, to timely meet the September 30 deadline instead of dealing with more pressing issues,” the letter said. “This is not a unique or unheard-of scenario. It is critical that all victims — regardless of where they reside and whether they endured a hurricane, a mudslide, or other type of disaster — receive immediate relief. Until individuals and small business owners know what tax relief they will receive, which can sometimes take months or even years after the event, recovery is impeded.”

The letter repeated the AICPA’s request that the IRS automatically provide relief for federally declared disasters.

The AICPA has other resources on its Disaster Relief Resource Center.

AICPA advocacy with FinCEN

In its letter regarding BOI and FBAR extensions, the AICPA asked FinCEN to adopt a policy providing automatic filing extensions to victims of major disasters and to match the extensions that the IRS provides.

“While FinCEN often has provided filing relief for FBAR filings to those affected by disasters, FinCEN does not automatically apply relief in all instances where the IRS has granted filing relief,” the letter said. “Even when FinCEN has granted disaster relief, it has not always been provided to the same taxpayers to whom the IRS gave relief for the same disaster. Furthermore, since BOI reporting compliance has been implemented, FinCEN has not offered disaster relief for any BOI reports due.

“The AICPA recommends that FinCEN adopt a policy of automatically granting FBAR and BOI filing postponements to coincide with the IRS’s extended due dates when the IRS grants postponements under Sec. 7508A. The relief provided by FinCEN should match the relief provided by the IRS for other filings, both in terms of the extended due dates and the geographic scope.”

Sec. 7508A permits a postponement of the time to perform specified acts for those affected by a federally declared disaster, significant fire, or a terroristic or military action.

IRS assists FEMA

Meanwhile, the IRS said in a news release that it has assigned over 500 customer service representatives from Dallas and Philadelphia to respond to phone calls to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). IRS Criminal Investigation agents are helping with door-to-door search efforts in North Carolina after first being deployed to Florida. These agents also are providing FEMA with security and protection for its relief teams and equipment.

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Martha Waggoner at Martha.Waggoner@aicpa-cima.com.