If a storm, wildfire or earthquake hit your area this year, your tax deadline may already have moved. For Guam, the deadline for filers hit by Super Typhoon Bavi, which began on July 4, has been pushed to February 4, 2027.
That is how the IRS disaster relief program works. Taxpayers who live or run a business in a federally declared disaster area usually get automatic extensions to file and to pay. The same relief reaches relief workers with a recognised government or charitable group, people who hold tax records in the area, and visitors who were injured or killed in the disaster. Each time the extensions are triggered, the IRS issues an announcement setting the new date for returns, payments and other time-sensitive actions.
How the dates are set
The new deadline applies retroactively. TurboTax gives an example: after an earthquake on February 1, with relief announced a week later and a new deadline of August 1, every qualifying federal deadline from February 1 to July 31 slides to August 1.
The extension covers most federal filings and payments, including income tax returns (even those already on extension), estimated tax payments, payroll returns and deposits, and excise tax returns. One limit trips people up. A filing extension gives more time to file, not more time to pay.
Check the fine print on geography. In most cases only part of a state or territory is inside the disaster area, so the IRS announcement itself shows whether your county is covered.
What is on the 2026 list
Many of the new dates fall on February 1 or 2, 2027. Examples from the list:
Alabama: Hurricane Isaias, which began October 7, with deadlines extended to February 4, 2027. Florida: the same storm, beginning October 9, with relief to February 8, 2027.
Georgia: wildfires and straight-line winds from April 18, with deadlines moved to August 20, 2026. Hawaii: flooding and mudslides from March 10 (to August 20, 2026) and an earthquake in Hawaii County from May 22 (to February 1, 2027).
Louisiana: a winter ice storm from January 22 (to March 31) and Tropical Storm Arthur from June 17 (to November 2, 2026). Mississippi: a winter storm from January 23 (to June 8), spring storms from May 6 (to November 2) and Arthur again from June 18 (to February 1, 2027).
Nebraska has six separate events, mostly wildfires and storms between March and September, with deadlines in February 2027 and one, for storms from September 9, in January 2027. The Oglala Sioux Tribe in Montana, the Pueblo of Zuni in New Mexico, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin also appear, along with the Northern Mariana Islands, hit by Super Typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi. Tennessee’s Winter Storm Fern, which began January 22, carries a July 8 deadline.
Disaster victims may also deduct unreimbursed property losses on a federal return, and some government assistance payments after a disaster might be excluded from taxable income.
Some 2025 disasters pushed deadlines into 2026 as well. Arizona’s ran to September 28, 2026, and Minnesota’s to February 2, 2026.
