The IRS will grant taxpayers with residences or businesses located in any California county designated as a federal disaster area by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) following January’s series of damaging wind, rain and snow storms, additional time to file and pay their 2022 taxes.

The current list of counties includes: Alameda, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Ventura, Yolo and Yuba. FEMA regularly updates this list, which can be found here.

Taxpayers in these counties will have until May 15, 2023 to file a variety of federal personal and business tax returns and make payments, including for any deadlines that occurred starting on January 8, 2023.

This includes:

• Individual tax returns due April 18
• Business tax returns due March 15 and April 18.
• Contributions to Health Savings Accounts and IRAs for the 2022 tax year.
• Tax returns and payments that are normally due on March 1 from farmers who forgo estimated tax payments.
• Quarterly estimated tax payments normally due on January 17, 2023 and April 18, 2023. This means individual taxpayers can skip making their fourth quarter estimated tax payment and include it with their 2022 return, due on or before May 15.
• Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on January 31, 2023 and April 30, 2023.

A complete list of returns, payments and tax-related actions that qualify for relief can be found here.

Penalties Abated

Penalties for late payment of payroll and excise tax deposits due on January 8, 2023 and before January 23, 2023 will be abated if such deposits are made by January 23, 2023.

How to Access Relief

Any taxpayer with an IRS address in the affected areas automatically qualifies for the penalty and filing relief. There is no need to contact the IRS. However, affected taxpayers who receive late filing or penalty notices for qualifying tax payments or filings should contact the IRS immediately at the number listed on the notice to have the penalty abated.

Tax Records Within the Affected Area

Taxpayers who reside outside the affected areas may qualify for relief if they are unable to access records that are needed to complete their returns because they are housed at a location in one of the designated counties. Contact the IRS at 866-562-5227 to request this relief, which also applies to workers assisting with relief activities who are affiliated with a recognized government or nonprofit relief organization.

Disaster-Related Losses

Insured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can be claimed on taxpayers’ 2022 return or 2023 return, and must include the FEMA disaster declaration number, 3691-EM on any return claiming a loss.