Philly Follows IRS and PA by Providing Tax Filing Relief To Businesses Affected By Hurricane Ida
Hurricane Ida hit the City of Philadelphia on September 1, 2021, and stayed for two days bringing with it strong winds, tornadoes, and heavy rainfall. Hurricane Ida left behind at least four deaths and catastrophic flooding not only in Philadelphia but also in the surrounding counties. The financial effects of this powerful storm can still be felt by the businesses in Philadelphia two months later.
Frequently when natural disasters occur, taxpayers struggle to timely prepare and file tax returns because money and time is spent on recovering and the necessary financial and business records may be lost or destroyed. To alleviate tax-filing pressures on the victims of Hurricane Ida, the IRS and Pennsylvania announced last month an extension of certain tax return deadlines. The City of Philadelphia is now following the IRS’ and Pennsylvania’s lead.
Following the disaster declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the IRS announced on September 14, 2021, that victims of Hurricane Ida have until January 3, 2022, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments that had a deadline falling on or after August 31, 2021, and before January 3, 2022. Residents and businesses located in Bedford, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, and York counties qualified for this tax relief. This filing relief, however, did not extend to tax payments for individuals, which were due May 17, 2021.
On September 22, 2021, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue followed the IRS’ lead and announced that it was extending the deadline to file individual and business tax returns for taxpayers who were affected by Hurricane Ida. As a result, individuals, partnerships, and S corporations that had a valid extension to file their tax returns, now have until January 3, 2022, to file, where C corporations generally have until February 2, 2022.
The City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue recently announced that taxpayers who qualify for Pennsylvania or the IRS relief for tax returns due after August 31, 2021, and were affected by Hurricane Ida, have until January 3, 2022, to file Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT), Net Profits Tax (NPT), and School Income Tax (SIT) returns for tax year 2020. This extension, however, did not apply to other Philadelphia tax returns and did not extend the deadline for payment of tax liability of the BIRT, NPT, and SIT. Therefore, taxpayers will need to pay those taxes well before the requisite tax returns are due.
The information contained in this publication should not be construed as legal advice, is not a substitute for legal counsel, and should not be relied on as such. For legal advice or answers to specific questions, please contact one of our attorneys.
