WASHINGTON– The Internal Revenue Service announced Hurricane Isaias tax relief Wednesday for eligible individuals and businesses in 40 Alabama counties.

The October 14 announcement generally moves qualifying federal filing and payment deadlines to February 4, 2027. It covers certain obligations due on or after October 7, 2026, and before February 4, 2027.

However, the IRS notice contains conflicting dates for people with valid extensions to file their 2025 individual income tax returns. One paragraph gives February 7, 2027, while the headline and most other deadline references give February 4.

The announcement follows an Alabama disaster declaration for Hurricane Isaias beginning October 7. It provides federal tax relief for the designated area, rather than a statewide postponement.

Which Alabama Counties Qualify?

The IRS lists these 40 counties: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Chambers, Chilton, Clarke, Choctaw, Coffee, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Dallas, Elmore, Escambia, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Washington, and Wilcox.

Cherokee, Etowah, DeKalb, Calhoun, Marshall, and Jackson counties are not on that list. However, some taxpayers outside the designated counties may qualify through other provisions in the notice.

For example, people outside the disaster area may qualify if records necessary to meet a covered deadline are in the affected area. The IRS also includes qualifying relief workers affiliated with recognized government or philanthropic organizations.

In addition, the notice covers visitors who suffered injuries or died because of the disaster while in the covered area.

How Taxpayers Receive Relief

The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers in the covered disaster area and applies the filing and payment relief. Eligible businesses include tax-exempt organizations whose principal place of business is in the affected area.

However, affected taxpayers outside the covered area should call IRS Special Services at 866-562-5227 to request relief.

Tax practitioners in the disaster area can also contact Special Services when they hold necessary records for clients outside the area. Practitioners seeking relief for 10 or more clients should review the IRS guidance on bulk disaster-relief requests.

Returns and Payments Covered

The postponement generally covers qualifying individual and business returns with original or extended deadlines during the relief period. These include corporate, partnership, S corporation, estate, and trust income tax returns.

The notice also covers estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns, along with annual information returns for tax-exempt organizations. In addition, it includes employment and certain excise tax returns.

Affected quarterly payroll and certain excise tax returns normally due November 2, 2026, qualify for the February 4 deadline.

The IRS also postpones qualifying estimated income tax payments until February 4. Affected taxpayers can avoid penalties for missing those installments if they pay by that date.

Certain other time-sensitive tax actions also qualify when their deadlines fall within the covered period. The notice refers taxpayers to Treasury regulations and Revenue Procedure 2018-58 for the applicable actions.

However, the postponement does not generally cover information returns in the W-2, 1094, 1095, 1097, 1098, or 1099 series. Other exceptions include Forms 1042-S, 3921, 3922, and 8027, unless an action specifically qualifies under Revenue Procedure 2018-58.

Conflicting Date for Extended 2025 Individual Returns

The IRS specifically includes people who obtained valid extensions to file their 2025 individual income tax returns. However, that paragraph gives a February 7 deadline, conflicting with the February 4 date elsewhere in the announcement.

Taxpayers in that category should confirm their filing deadline with the IRS because the notice does not reconcile the two dates.

The announcement is clear on a separate point: relief does not cover tax payments for 2025 returns that were due April 15, 2026. Those payments were due before the disaster postponement period began.

Payroll and Excise Tax Deposits Have Different Rules

Payroll and excise tax deposits do not receive the same general postponement as covered returns. Instead, the IRS offers a limited deposit-penalty waiver.

The agency will waive penalties on deposits due on or after October 7 and before October 22, 2026. To receive that waiver, taxpayers must make those deposits by October 22.

Affected taxpayers may also receive a late-filing or late-payment penalty notice involving a covered deadline. The IRS directs them to call the telephone number on the notice to request penalty relief.

Payment Plans Remain in Place, but Charges Continue

Taxpayers with installment agreements or payment plans will continue receiving reminder notices. Automatic bank withdrawals will also continue unless taxpayers arrange to stop them.

However, missed payments during the postponement period will not cause an installment agreement to default, according to the IRS. The agreement remains in effect if covered payments wait until February 4.

Interest and the usual late-payment penalties will still accrue during that period. Taxpayers who want to suspend direct-debit payments should contact the IRS or their bank for assistance.

Copies of Returns and Other Disaster Assistance

The IRS will waive its usual fees for copies of previously filed returns for affected taxpayers. Applicants should place declaration number AL-0017-DR in bold at the top of the appropriate request form.

The notice identifies Form 4506 for return copies and Form 4506-T for transcripts, as appropriate.

Qualified disaster relief payments generally do not count toward gross income. For example, qualifying government payments can cover reasonable and necessary personal, family, living, or funeral expenses.

The exclusion can also cover qualifying home repairs or rehabilitation and repair or replacement of household contents. The IRS directs taxpayers to Publication 525 for details.

Additional relief may be available through retirement plans or individual retirement arrangements. For example, eligible taxpayers may qualify for special disaster distributions without the additional 10% early-distribution tax.

They may also qualify to spread the distribution’s income over three years or take a hardship withdrawal. However, eligibility depends on the applicable rules and the individual plan or IRA.

The notice links Form 8915-F and the IRS disaster retirement-plan guidance.

Separately, taxpayers with foreign bank account reporting obligations should review Financial Crimes Enforcement Network notices. Any extension for those reports requires checking the relevant FBAR relief notice.

Refund Claims and Other IRS Matters

The announcement also cites the Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act, Public Law 119-64. It treats a disaster-postponed federal return deadline as an extension when calculating the limit on a refund claim.

As a result, affected taxpayers have additional time to claim a refund or credit under the applicable rules.

People who do not qualify for disaster relief may still qualify for reasonable-cause penalty relief. In addition, taxpayers handling an IRS collection or examination matter should explain how the disaster affects them.

The agency said it may announce further disaster relief.

Free Tax-Preparation Options

Eligible individuals and families can seek free preparation help through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or Tax Counseling for the Elderly. They can use the VITA site locator or call 800-906-9887.

However, VITA sites normally cannot help taxpayers claim disaster losses, the IRS noted. Another option is the AARP Tax-Aide locator or 888-227-7669.

The IRS also lists Free File guided tax software. The notice gives an eligibility limit of $89,000 or less in adjusted gross income for 2025, with English and Spanish products available.

Free File Fillable Forms offers another option without an income limit. Those electronic forms suit taxpayers comfortable preparing their own federal returns.

Finally, eligible military members and some veterans can use the Department of Defense’s MilTax program without an income limit. It offers free preparation software and electronic filing for federal returns and up to three state income tax returns.

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