NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tax day is less than one week away, but not for thousands of Tennesseans.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced victims of severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes beginning December 10, 2021, now have until May 16, 2022, to file tax returns and make tax payments.
Individuals eligible for the extension must reside or have a business in Cheatham, Davidson, Decatur, Dickson, Dyer, Gibson, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Obion, Stewart, Sumner, Weakley, and Wilson counties.
Bryan Williams, owner of People's Tax Service in Old Hickory, said people impacted by storms may have lost documents necessary to file their taxes. Now they have more time to collect what they need so they can accurately file their taxes.
"I think this will take a lot of pressure off those individuals to let them know they have extra time," said Williams. "The government is working with you, and trying to help you out the best they can. So you can gather everything you need and worry about the taxes later on."
Williams said storm victims may also be able to claim storm-related losses on their taxes and could catch a financial break from the state of Tennessee. He recommended people visit the TNTAP website and search for "natural disaster sales tax relief."
"People may qualify for reimbursement for sales tax they paid for appliances, and construction materials," said Williams. "As long as they did receive assistance from FEMA, they may qualify for a refund in that sales tax they paid."
The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies filing and payment relief, but affected taxpayers who reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area should call the IRS disaster hotline at 866-562-5227 to request tax relief.
Williams said the IRS is running behind on processing tax returns due to the pandemic. If an effected taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS, the taxpayer should call the telephone number on the notice to have the IRS remove the penalty.
