IRS tax deadline extended to November for Kentucky, 12 counties in West Virginia

WASHINGTON, D.C. — While April 15 is traditionally tax day in the United States, that is not the case for residents of Kentucky or certain areas of West Virginia affected by the Valentine’s weekend flood.

Due to the disaster declaration, federal tax deadlines have been extended until Nov. 3 for individuals and businesses in the entire state of Kentucky, as well as those living in the following West Virginia counties:

Boone
Greenbrier
Lincoln
Logan
McDowell
Mercer
Mingo
Monroe
Raleigh
Summers
Wayne
Wyoming

Taxpayers do not have to prove damages from the flood in order to qualify for the extended deadline, but merely need to live or have a business in the affected area. Those who live or have businesses outside of the disaster area but who were affected by the severe weather can also get an extension, but they must call IRS Special Services at 866-562-5227 to request it.

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 the IRS Special Services; if the practitioner maintains the necessary records of ten or more clients, please refer to Bulk requests from practitioners for disaster relief for additional guidance.

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.

In addition, Kentucky has likewise extended the deadline to file and pay state income taxes until Nov. 3. Late filing and payment penalties will be waived for those affected taxpayers seeking this relief, as long as such payments are paid on or before Nov. 3. Kentucky’s tax laws have no provision for the waiver of interest.

West Virginia does not automatically extend its state tax filing deadline following a disaster declaration, but those who are in the declaration area can request an extension by filing form EXD-P for personal taxes or EXD-B for business taxes. More information on that process can be found at https://tax.wv.gov/Individuals/TaxFilingSeason/Pages/DisasterReliefExtensionTaxYear2024.aspx.

The Nov. 3 deadline also applies to 2024 contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts for eligible taxpayers. This relief also applies to the estimated tax payments normally due on April 15, June 16, and Sept. 15, 2025. Penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Feb. 14, 2025, and before March 3, 2025, will be abated as long as the tax deposits are made by March 3, 2025.

The Nov. 3, 2025, deadline also applies to affected businesses:

Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on April 30, July 31, and Oct. 31, 2025.
Calendar-year partnership and S corporation returns normally due on March 17, 2025.
Calendar-year corporation and fiduciary returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2025.
Calendar-year tax-exempt organization returns normally due on May 15, 2025.

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.

Additional details

Under section 7508A, the IRS gives 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 Feb. 14, 2025, and before Nov. 3, 2025.

Estimated income tax payment originally due on or after Feb. 14, 2025, are postponed through Nov. 3, 2025, and affected taxpayers will not 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 also gives affected taxpayers until Nov. 3, 2025, to perform other time-sensitive actions described in Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(c)(1) and Rev. Proc. 2018-58, 2018-50 IRB 990 (Dec. 10, 2018), that are due to be performed on or after Feb. 14, 2025, and before Nov. 3, 2025.

Under the relief, Form 5500 series returns that were required to be filed on or after Feb.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 are not 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 does not 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 Feb. 14, 2025, and before March 3, 2025, will be abated as long as the tax deposits were made by March 3, 2025.

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, or the prior year. In this instance, the 2025 return (normally filed next year), or the return for 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 are not covered by insurance or other reimbursements. For details, see Form 4684, Casualties and Thefts PDF and its instructions PDF. Affected taxpayers claiming the disaster loss on their return should put FEMA disaster declaration number, 3624-EM on any return. See Publication 547 for details.

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 (3624-EM), in bold letters at the top of Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return PDF, or Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return PDF, 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. See Publication 525 for details.

Additional relief may be available to affected taxpayers who participate in a retirement plan or individual retirement arrangement (IRA). 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.

The IRS may provide additional disaster relief in the future.

Taxpayers who do not 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 IRS can provide appropriate consideration to their case. Taxpayers may download forms and publications from the official IRS website, IRS.gov.

Reminder about tax return preparation options

Eligible individuals or families can get free help preparing their tax return at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) or Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) sites. To find the closest free tax help site, use the VITA Locator Tool or call 800-906-9887. Note that normally, VITA sites cannot help claim disaster losses.
To find an AARP Tax-Aide site, use the AARP Site Locator Tool or call 888-227-7669.
Any individual or family whose adjusted gross income (AGI) was $84,000 or less in 2024 can use IRS Free File’s Guided Tax Software at no cost. There are products in English and Spanish.
Another Free File option is Free File Fillable Forms. These are electronic federal tax forms, equivalent to a paper 1040 and are designed for taxpayers who are comfortable filling out IRS tax forms. Anyone, regardless of income, can use this option.
MilTax, a Department of Defense program, offers free return preparation software and electronic filing for federal tax returns and up to three state income tax returns. It’s available for all military members and some veterans, with no income limit.