Will the 2021 Refund Deadline of Oct 15, 2024 be extended for Hurricane Helene victims?

Thanks for this info! How do we know which counties are included? I'm in western NC and got hit pretty bad but wasn't sure if my county qualified. Also, do we need to do anything special on our returns to get this extension or is it automatic?

The list of eligible counties is available on the IRS website under "Tax Relief in Disaster Situations" or FEMA's website. Most counties in western North Carolina are included, such as Buncombe, Henderson, McDowell, Rutherford, and others. You can check the full list on these sites to confirm your county. You don't need to do anything special to qualify for the extension. The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area. However, if you receive a late filing or payment penalty notice and you're in an affected area, you should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.

Does it actually work with disaster-specific tax situations? I've tried other tax tools but they never seem to understand special circumstances like hurricane extensions. How detailed is the guidance?

I'm skeptical about these online tools. How does taxr.ai know which counties qualify for the extension? Did you have to input that separately or did it somehow know based on your address? Worried about getting incorrect information.

It absolutely handles disaster-specific situations. The system asked for my address and automatically cross-referenced it with FEMA's disaster declarations. It then applied all the relevant extensions and explained what specific relief I qualified for. The guidance was incredibly detailed - it even showed me the IRS notices that applied to my situation. Regarding how it knows which counties qualify, it maintains a database of all IRS and FEMA disaster declarations that's constantly updated. I didn't need to know anything about qualifying counties - I just entered my address and it determined everything automatically. It even showed me the official disaster declaration number and date so I could verify the information myself if I wanted to.

How does this service actually work? I've been calling the IRS for weeks about my hurricane-related questions and always get disconnected or face 2+ hour wait times. Does Claimyr just call for you or what?

Sorry but this sounds fake. No way they can get you through to the IRS that quickly when everyone else is waiting hours. The IRS phone system is notoriously backed up, especially after a disaster. What's the catch here?

The service basically holds your place in line with the IRS. They have a system that navigates all the IRS phone prompts and waits on hold for you. When they're about to connect with an agent, they call you and connect you directly to the agent. It's like having someone wait in line for you. The catch is that there isn't one really, which is why I was surprised it worked. Their system just navigates the phone tree and waits through the hold time so you don't have to. I was skeptical too, but when I was facing potentially missing a deadline, I figured it was worth trying. I spent days trying to get through myself with no luck, but with them I spoke to an actual IRS agent in minutes. The agent even commented that call volumes were exceptionally high due to hurricane-related questions.

Is this really necessary if the IRS says the extension is automatic for people in affected areas? Also, what if I'm using TurboTax or another software - where would I find this disaster designation box?

While the IRS does automatically identify taxpayers in disaster areas, marking your return with the disaster designation provides an extra layer of assurance that your return will be processed correctly. It's not absolutely required, but it's recommended by tax professionals working in disaster areas. For tax software like TurboTax, H&R Block, or others, the disaster designation option is typically found in the "Personal Information" or "Special Situations" section. Different software packages label it differently, but most have added this feature. Look for options like "Disaster Victim," "FEMA Disaster Declaration," or something similar. If you can't find it, the software's help function should point you in the right direction.

You can request copies of your wage and income transcripts from the IRS for free. Go to IRS.gov and search for "Get Transcript Online" or call their transcript request line at 800-908-9946. This will give you all the info reported to the IRS like your W-2s and 1099s for 2021. For bank statements and other documents, contact those institutions directly for replacements.

Unfortunately, you can't claim Hurricane Helene disaster losses on your 2021 return since the disaster occurred in 2024. Casualty losses must be claimed for the tax year in which they occurred. You'll need to claim Helene-related losses on your 2024 tax return (which you'll file in 2025) or potentially on an amended 2023 return if you choose to claim the loss in the immediately preceding year, which is sometimes allowed for federally declared disasters. But for your 2021 return that you're filing now, you can only claim the extension - not any hurricane-related losses.

Thanks for clarifying that! Makes sense that I can't claim 2024 losses on a 2021 return. I'll focus on just getting the 2021 return filed with the extension for now and deal with the hurricane losses on my 2024 taxes next year.