WASHINGTON –– The Internal Revenue Service is providing tax relief to individual and business taxpayers impacted by Hurricane Irene.

The IRS announced today that certain taxpayers in North Carolina, New Jersey, New York and Puerto Rico will receive tax relief, and other locations are expected to be added in coming days following additional damage assessments by the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA).

The tax relief postpones certain tax filing and payment deadlines to Oct. 31, 2011. It includes corporations and businesses that previously obtained an extension until Sept. 15, 2011, to file their 2010 returns and individuals and businesses that received a similar extension until Oct. 17. It also includes the estimated tax payment for the third quarter of 2011, which would normally be due Sept. 15.

Full details, including the start date for the relief in various locations and information on how to claim a disaster loss by amending a prior-year tax return, can be found in tax relief announcements for individual states on this website.

The tax relief is part of a coordinated federal response to the damage caused by the hurricane and is based on local damage assessments by FEMA. For information on disaster recovery, individuals should visit disasterassistance.gov.

Tax Relief Available So Far

Filing and payment relief is currently available to taxpayers in federal disaster areas declared in North Carolina, New Jersey, New York State and Puerto Rico. The IRS expects to announce tax relief for taxpayers in other areas as damage assessments continue.

The IRS encourages taxpayers and tax practitioners to monitor Tax Relief in Disaster Situations on this website for updates.

So far, IRS filing and payment relief applies to the following counties and municipalities:

• In North Carolina: Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico and Tyrell;
• In New Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic and Somerset;
• In New York: Albany, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Schenectady, Schoharie and Ulster; and
• In Puerto Rico: Caguas, Canovanas, Carolina, Cayey, Loiza, Luquillo and San Juan.