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Did a Disaster Move Your Tax Deadline? The IRC § 7508A Guide

A declared disaster can push back your Tax Court petition deadline and other IRS deadlines. How IRC § 7508A works, who qualifies and how to find your date.

Liam Williams

Liam Williams

— 21 min read
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A hurricane, wildfire, flood or storm hit where you live, or where your business, records or tax preparer are, and an IRS deadline is coming up or has just slipped past. The one that matters most is the deadline to petition the U.S. Tax Court after a notice of deficiency (the IRS letter saying you owe more tax), because neither the IRS nor the Court can extend it on request. A disaster postponement is one of the few things that can move it.

Here is the short answer. If your last day falls inside an IRS disaster postponement period, it moves to the last day of that period, and the IRS news release for your disaster gives that date. If FEMA declared a major disaster with help for individuals and households after July 24, 2025, and your county is in the disaster area, the law itself sets a period ending 120 days after the later of the disaster's start or the declaration, whether or not the IRS has announced anything. The date printed on your notice may not reflect any of this.

Where To Start, Depending on What You Are Facing

What the Disaster Postponement Law Does

IRC § 7508A works in two ways. It lets the IRS postpone tax deadlines by up to a year for taxpayers affected by a disaster. And for the most serious disasters, it postpones some deadlines automatically, whether or not the IRS acts.

The IRS's Power To Postpone

Under § 7508A(a), the IRS decides who is affected, which deadlines move, and for how long, up to one year. It can act after a "federally declared disaster" (one the President declares under the Stafford Act, the federal disaster-relief law, as IRC § 165(i)(5)(A) defines it), a significant fire, or a terroristic or military action.

In practice, the IRS's manual says relief follows when FEMA issues a major disaster declaration with at least one area qualifying for Individual Assistance, FEMA's help for individuals and households. Relief is generally not given when a declaration covers only Public Assistance, FEMA's aid to state and local governments (IRM 25.16.1.4.1). The IRS can also act on FEMA emergency declarations and on state declarations (IRM 25.16.1.4.2).

The Automatic Period: 120 Days for Recent Disasters

Since 2019 the statute has also set a minimum postponement that applies on its own. Today it is § 7508A(e), headed "Mandatory 120-day extension." For a qualified taxpayer, a period running from the disaster's earliest incident date to 120 days after the later of that date or the date of the declaration "shall be disregarded" in deciding whether certain acts were done on time. Those acts include filing a Tax Court petition.

Three conditions decide whether you get it:

  • The declaration. The disaster area must be part of a major disaster for which the President provides financial assistance to individuals and households under section 408 of the Stafford Act, which is FEMA's Individual Assistance. By the statute's terms, an emergency declaration or a state declaration does not trigger the automatic period, though the IRS can still grant relief for them.
  • You. A "qualified taxpayer" is someone whose main home is in the disaster area (renters included), anyone whose principal place of business is there (work as an employee does not count), a relief worker with a recognized government or philanthropic organization assisting there, anyone whose records needed to meet the deadline are kept there, a visitor killed or injured in the disaster, and, for a joint return, the spouse of any of them.
  • The date. The 120 days come from the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, Pub. L. 119-29, and apply to "declarations made after" July 24, 2025. Earlier declarations get 60 days.
Declaration made Automatic period It ends
Dec. 21, 2019 to Nov. 15, 2021 (including COVID-19) 60 days 60 days after the latest incident date in the declaration
Nov. 16, 2021 to July 24, 2025 60 days 60 days after the later of the earliest incident date or the declaration date
July 25, 2025 or later 120 days 120 days after the later of the earliest incident date or the declaration date

The period starts on the disaster's first day, so a declaration made weeks later still reaches back to deadlines that fell during the disaster. It needs no IRS announcement either: the Tax Court held in Abdo, discussed below, that even the 2019 version "provides for an unambiguously self-executing postponement period."

Why older sources say "(d)." Until July 2025 the automatic period was § 7508A(d). Pub. L. 119-29 added a new subsection (c), for state disasters, and relettered the rest, so court decisions on COVID-19 still call it (d).

The regulation lags behind. The Treasury regulation, Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1, was last amended in 2021 and still describes, in its paragraph (g), a 60-day automatic period. Abdo held part of paragraph (g) invalid, and the IRS says parts of it were made obsolete by the November 2021 amendments (AOD 2026-01, note 5). The rest of the regulation, which lists the deadlines that move and who counts as affected, is still what the IRS applies and cites in its releases.

State Disasters and Significant Fires

Since July 2025, § 7508A(c) lets the IRS give the same relief for a "qualified State declared disaster" when a state's Governor (or the Mayor of D.C.) asks in writing. That covers a natural catastrophe, or any fire, flood or explosion, that the Governor finds severe enough. Only the IRS's discretionary power applies: there is no automatic period, and the IRS's manual says state disasters "do not require a minimum of 120 days of relief" (IRM 25.16.1.4.1).

The IRS can also postpone deadlines after a "significant fire," meaning one for which FEMA provides fire management assistance under the Stafford Act (§ 7508A(f)).

Which Deadlines Move

Section 7508A borrows its list from IRC § 7508(a)(1), the rule for service in a combat zone. The automatic period covers the first six acts on that list: filing a return; paying tax, including installments; "Filing a petition with the Tax Court, or filing a notice of appeal from a decision of the Tax Court"; the allowance of a credit or refund; filing a refund claim; and suing on a refund claim.

When the IRS announces relief, it usually covers more. The regulation's list (§ 301.7508A-1(c)(1)) and an IRS revenue procedure, Rev. Proc. 2018-58, together cover dozens of deadlines, and the revenue procedure says that unless the guidance for a disaster limits the relief, it "will generally postpone all of the acts listed in the regulations and this revenue procedure."

Deadline Moves when the IRS announces relief Moves under the automatic period
Tax Court petition after a notice of deficiency Yes Yes
Tax Court petition after a CDP Notice of Determination Yes Yes, on the statute's wording
Tax Court petition for innocent spouse relief or interest abatement Yes Yes, on the statute's wording
Asking IRS Appeals for a CDP hearing Yes No, not on the statute's list
Asking the IRS for innocent spouse relief (the two-year deadline) Yes No, not on the statute's list
Filing a return Yes Yes
Paying tax, including installment agreement payments and quarterly estimated tax Yes, but not payroll or excise tax deposits Yes
Filing a refund claim or a refund suit Yes Yes
IRS deadlines, such as assessing or collecting tax Only if the release says so No

CDP means collection due process: the hearing you can request after a lien or levy notice. The IRS's own deadlines, such as the one for assessing tax (formally recording it as owed), move only when the release for a disaster says government acts are postponed; Raising the Statute of Limitations in Tax Court explains how that can give the IRS more time to assess.

A postponement only reaches deadlines that fall inside the window. A deadline that passed before the disaster began stays passed, and on the IRS's reading a deadline that falls after the window closes does not move either (see below).

Finding Your New Date

The IRS Release Is the Document That Counts

The regulation says the IRS will publish guidance for each postponement describing "the acts postponed, the postponement period, and the location of the covered disaster area." In practice that is a news release with a code such as OH-2026-02. The IRS lists them by date on Tax Relief in Disaster Situations and by state on Around the Nation.

Each release names the covered counties, the date relief begins and the date it ends. Releases rarely name the Tax Court: a petition is among the "other time-sensitive actions" they postpone (§ 301.7508A-1(c)(1)(iv)). Print the one for your disaster and keep it with your notice.

Releases can change. Covered areas can grow when FEMA adds counties to a declaration (IRM 25.16.1.3), and on October 22, 2026, the IRS updated its Florida Hurricane Isaias release to move the start of relief from October 9 to October 6. The IRS's manual also says a postponement "may be extended" (IRM 25.16.1.2.1). Check the release again shortly before your deadline.

How the IRS Sets the End Date

When FEMA declares a major disaster with Individual Assistance within 30 days of the incident, the IRS generally uses a fixed schedule (IRM 25.16.1.4.2):

Disaster began in Relief ends
January to March August 1
April to June November 1
July to September February 1
October to December May 1

Each date moves to the next business day if needed. When FEMA declares more than 30 days after the incident, the IRS uses the § 7508A(e) count instead: 120 days after the declaration date, moved off a weekend or holiday.

By the statute's terms, its count is a floor: § 7508A(e)(5) makes the automatic period run "in addition to (or concurrent with, as the case may be)" any period the IRS sets. So for a major disaster with Individual Assistance declared after July 24, 2025, if 120 days after the later of the start date or the declaration runs past the date in the release, the later date still applies, for qualified taxpayers and the acts the statute covers. No court has yet ruled on the 120-day version, so file by the release's date if you can.

To count it yourself, or before the IRS issues a release, you need the declaration's dates and areas. The IRS points to FEMA's list at FEMA.gov/disaster of the areas designated for public or individual assistance; the automatic period needs a major disaster with Individual Assistance. The Small Business Administration's Federal Register notice gives the incident period and declaration date, as in the Ohio example below.

Example: Ohio Storms, a Federal Major Disaster

Storms, tornadoes, flooding and landslides hit Ohio from August 10 to 22, 2026. The President declared a major disaster, FEMA-4945-DR, on October 2, 2026 (SBA notice, 91 FR 64210). On October 14 the IRS issued OH-2026-02: taxpayers in Clermont, Franklin, Hamilton, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum and Perry counties have until February 1, 2027 for deadlines falling on or after August 10, 2026, including the "other time-sensitive actions" in the regulation and Rev. Proc. 2018-58.

The declaration came 53 days after the storms began, so the IRS's manual counts 120 days from the October 2 declaration, the same count § 7508A(e) uses. That lands on Saturday, January 30, 2027, and the IRS's February 1 is the next business day.

Say you live in Franklin County and your notice of deficiency was mailed August 3, 2026. Day 90 is Sunday, November 1, so your last day would be Monday, November 2. That falls inside the window, so a petition filed by February 1, 2027 is on time. Had the notice been mailed May 4, 2026, the last day would have been Monday, August 3, a week before the storms began, and the postponement would not help.

Example: Texas Storms, a State Declaration

Storms that began July 14, 2026 hit parts of Texas. The IRS acted on "the disaster declaration issued by the State of Texas," under the new § 7508A(c). Its release, TX-2026-05 of October 27, 2026, gives taxpayers in 62 counties, including Bexar, Harris and Travis, until February 1, 2027 for deadlines falling on or after July 14, 2026.

Because this relief rests on a state declaration, the release's county list and dates control: the automatic § 7508A(e) period does not apply unless FEMA later declares a major disaster with Individual Assistance for the same storms.

The Last Day of the Window Is Your Deadline

The IRS reads § 7508A as moving any deadline that falls inside the window to the window's last day. Some taxpayers have argued that it instead stops the clock, so that days inside the window don't count at all, which could also stretch a deadline that falls after it.

The courts have not settled this. In BMW (US) Holding Corp. v. United States, No. 25-1984T (Fed. Cl. Aug. 5, 2026), a refund case, the court put the question on hold until a related COVID-19 appeal is decided. Treat the window's last day as your deadline, and never count on extra days after it.

Who Counts as Affected

If the IRS Has Your Address in the Area

You don't have to apply. The IRS's releases say: "The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies filing and payment relief." It goes by your address of record, the address the IRS has on file for you. Some IRS notices sent into a covered area come with Notice 1462, Disaster Relief from the IRS.

If you have moved since the disaster, the IRS's FAQs for Disaster Victims say to use your current address when you file, to update it if you move after filing by calling the disaster hotline or filing Form 8822, Change of Address, and to notify the Post Office serving your old address. If you lived in the area but the IRS still had an older address for you, its systems won't flag you: call the hotline too, so the IRS can add the disaster indicator to your account (IRM 25.16.1.7.1), and keep proof of where you lived.

If You Live Outside the Area

"A taxpayer does not have to be located in a federally declared disaster area to be an 'affected taxpayer,'" the FAQs say. Under the regulation (§ 301.7508A-1(d)(1)) and the FAQs, you also count if:

  • your business's principal place of business is in the area;
  • you are a relief worker with a recognized government or philanthropic organization, assisting there;
  • the records you need to meet the deadline are there, including at your tax preparer's office or at a partnership or S corporation whose Schedule K-1 you are waiting for;
  • you are the spouse on a joint return with an affected taxpayer;
  • you were visiting and were killed or injured in the disaster; or
  • the IRS determines you were affected.

The IRS cannot see any of this from your address, so you have to tell it. Call the IRS disaster hotline (Special Services) at 866-562-5227, explain why you qualify, and give the declaration number from the release (for a state disaster, an IRS-assigned number such as SD-0018-DR). The IRS's manual says "No additional proof is required" (IRM 25.16.1.7.1); write down the date of the call and whom you spoke to.

The old practice of writing the disaster designation in red at the top of a return is gone; the FAQs say taxpayers "will no longer self-identify" that way. If you are under audit or in collection, the releases say to explain to the IRS employee how the disaster affects you.

Check Your Transcript

Once relief is set up, the IRS marks affected accounts with transaction code 971 and action code 688, the usual disaster indicator, or action code 087, used in the most catastrophic disasters. The codes generally reach the IRS's own records within 5 to 10 days (IRM 25.16.1.7). Look for them on your account transcript: How To Get and Read Your IRS Transcripts explains how to get one, and How To Read IRS Transcript Codes decodes it.

Your Tax Court Petition Deadline

IRC § 6213(a) gives you 90 days after the IRS mails a notice of deficiency to petition the Tax Court (150 days if the notice is addressed to you outside the United States), and a petition filed by the last day printed on the notice counts as timely. The days run from the mailing date, even if a notice sent to a home you had to leave reached you late; if it never reached you, or reached you too late to petition, see what you can still do.

How the days are counted, and how to prove when you mailed or e-filed, are in Proving Your Tax Court Petition Was Filed on Time. You Just Got a 90-Day Letter From the IRS explains the notice, and How To File Your Tax Court Petition walks through the filing.

How a Postponement Moves It

If your last day falls inside the postponement window, your petition is on time if filed by the window's last day. The regulation's Example 3 walks through it: a notice mailed July 28, 2009 gave until October 26, a hurricane postponement ran to November 30, and so "Corporation X's petition to the Tax Court will be timely if filed on or before November 30, 2009, the last day of the postponement period."

The IRS's examination manual says the same, with a limit: taxpayers with a disaster indicator "have until the postponement period end date to file a timely Tax Court petition. This only applies if the statutory notice was issued with a default date within the postponement period" (IRM 4.2.2.11.3.4). The default date is the end of your petition period. If the IRS assessed the tax in the meantime and you then petition inside the window, "the premature assessment must be abated," meaning canceled (IRM 4.2.2.11.3.3).

The notice may not show the new date. In Stokey, below, the notice was dated February 6, 2023 and printed May 8, 2023 as the last day. The IRS's relief release came out on March 24 and moved the deadline to May 15, so compare the release for your county with the date on your notice.

When It Applied

  • Abdo v. Commissioner, 162 T.C. 148 (2024). An Ohio couple's notice printed March 2, 2020 as their last day; they mailed their petition on March 17. The IRS's COVID-19 relief did not reach a deadline that early, and Ohio's major disaster declaration was not signed until March 31. But its incident period began January 20, so the Court held that the automatic period ran from then to at least March 20, and the petition was on time. Their Ohio residence was undisputed. They first answered the IRS's motion on their own without raising § 7508A; a lawyer raised it later.
  • Stokey v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2025-44. IRS relief for New York winter storms (IR-2023-58) moved a self-represented petitioner's deadline from May 8 to May 15, 2023. It did not save him: he mailed his petition in September, "135 days after the extended deadline," and never answered the Court's order asking for facts that could justify the delay. A postponement moves the deadline to a fixed date; it does not forgive a petition filed months later.
  • Dennis v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2020-98. A self-represented Florida couple filed their CDP petition about 20 days after the 30-day period. The Court agreed with the IRS that Hurricane Irma relief had extended the deadline to January 31, 2018, so the petition was timely.

When It Did Not Apply

  • Anthony v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-193. A couple who did volunteer work in Hawaii for a group memorializing the September 11 victims argued that made them affected taxpayers. The Court held that their "activities in Hawaii do not qualify them as relief workers assisting in a covered disaster area." A separate nationwide postponement reached only deadlines falling by September 24, 2001; theirs was September 25.
  • Schake v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-262. A self-represented Nebraska taxpayer mailed his CDP petition one day late, blaming bad weather and saying Court staff had told him of a grace period. Nothing showed "that the filing deadline for his petition was postponed" because of a declared disaster. Bad weather alone moves nothing. (Since 2022, the Court can also excuse a late CDP petition in rare cases under equitable tolling.)

Why the Postponement Matters So Much

The Tax Court treats the deficiency deadline as jurisdictional, a limit on its power that no excuse can move. Four federal appeals courts now allow equitable tolling, which excuses a missed deadline in rare cases, for taxpayers in their regions. Which rule applies depends on where you live; the map is in the § 7502 guide.

So in most of the country, a postponement that applies is often the only thing that can make a petition filed after the printed date count. If none applies, You Missed the 90-Day Deadline. Now What? covers what is left.

If the IRS Says You Filed Late

If the IRS thinks your petition was late, its attorney files a motion to dismiss, asking the Court to throw out your case, and the Court orders you to respond by a date. Common Tax Court Motions explains the process. It is up to you to show the Court has jurisdiction, which here means showing that a postponement covered both you and your deadline.

What has worked is facts the IRS did not dispute: residence in the covered area (Abdo), or the IRS's own agreement that relief applied (Dennis). What has failed is a connection that fits no listed category (Anthony) and bad weather without a declaration (Schake). Back up every fact with documents; attach these to your response:

  1. The IRS release for your disaster, showing your county and the dates, and FEMA's page for the declaration if you rely on the automatic period.
  2. Proof of where you lived or did business during the disaster: a lease or mortgage statement, utility bills, a driver's license, the address on your last return.
  3. If you qualify through records or a preparer in the area: where they were, why you needed them for this deadline, and the date of your hotline call and whom you spoke to.
  4. Your account transcript, if it shows transaction code 971 with action code 688 or 087.
  5. The notice's date and printed last day, and proof of when you mailed or e-filed the petition.
  6. A declaration signed under penalty of perjury that ties it together; the § 7502 guide explains how to write one.

Then answer every order the Court sends, by its date.

In a CDP case, raise § 7508A points about what you owe at the hearing. The Court generally considers only what you put before IRS Appeals. In Moore v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2026-85, it declined to consider § 7508A arguments about penalties and interest, noting that some were raised only in a brief, "far too late in the CDP context." In White v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2026-56, it refused to let a petitioner add a COVID-19 interest argument under § 7508A that he had not made at his hearing.

A late CDP petition is different: argue the postponement in your response to the IRS's motion.

If your income is at or below 250% of the poverty line and the amount in dispute is $50,000 or less, a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic may help for free or at low cost.

Interest, Penalties and Refunds

Interest and Penalties

When the IRS grants relief, the regulation makes an affected taxpayer "eligible for relief from interest, penalties, additional amounts, or additions to tax during the postponement period" on acts due inside it (§ 301.7508A-1(b)(2)). That is narrower than it sounds:

  • Only payments due inside the window. Older balances keep accruing. The FAQs say the IRS "will not abate interest on balances due on liabilities for prior years." The Ohio release says payments of 2025 income tax, due April 15, 2026, "are not eligible for this relief."
  • Payment plans. Payments due during the window can wait until it ends without the plan defaulting, but "the usual interest and late-payment penalty charges will continue to accrue during this period." Direct debits keep running unless you ask the IRS or your bank to stop them.
  • Only when the IRS announces relief. The automatic period's text speaks only to whether acts were done on time.

Since a December 2025 change to IRC § 6303(b), for notices issued after December 26, 2025, the IRS generally may not demand payment of tax due inside the window until the window ends. It may still send a bill. If you get a CP14 balance-due notice with a CP14C cover sheet, the IRS's instruction is: "Pay the amount owed by the due date on the CP14C cover sheet, not the CP14 notice."

If you get a late-filing or late-payment penalty notice for a deadline that fell inside the window, the releases say to call the number on the notice to have the penalty removed. If interest was charged on a payment the postponement covered, Can You Get IRS Interest Removed? explains how to ask for it back.

Refund Claims

A refund claim deadline that falls inside the window moves to its last day, like any other (the regulation's Example 5). A second rule helps with how far back the refund can reach. A refund is generally limited to tax paid in the 3 years before the claim, plus any extension of time to file the return (IRC § 6511(b)(2)(A)), and a postponement used not to count as an extension.

The Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act, Pub. L. 119-64, added a second subsection lettered (f) to § 7508A: a postponed return deadline now counts as an extension for that purpose, for claims filed after December 26, 2025. Understanding IRS Statutes of Limitations explains the lookback.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 disaster declarations of 2020 fell under the 2019 version of the automatic period. Abdo held that the period ran from January 20 to at least March 20, 2020, and the IRS has accepted that much (AOD 2026-01). In Kwong v. United States, 179 Fed. Cl. 382 (2025), the Court of Federal Claims held that it ran until July 10, 2023, and the government has appealed. Who can still claim back COVID-era penalties and interest is covered in COVID IRS Penalty Refunds After the July 10, 2026 Deadline.

Rules Not To Confuse With a Disaster Postponement

  • Weekends, holidays, mailing and Court closures. A last day on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next business day (IRC § 7503). A mailed petition counts as filed on its postmark date, though e-filing has no such rule (IRC § 7502). And if a Tax Court filing location (the Clerk's Office or DAWSON) is inaccessible on your last day, the period is tolled (paused) for those days plus 14 more (IRC § 7451(b)). These turn on the calendar, the mail and the Court's doors, not your county; the § 7502 guide covers all three.
  • Reasonable cause. It can remove a late-filing or late-payment penalty, but it cannot move a petition deadline, and a disaster does not prove it: "Section 7508A provides no general presumption of reasonable cause for late filing or late payment" (Godwin v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2003-289, where the taxpayers showed no link, such as lost records, between the disasters and their late return). See How To Request IRS Penalty Abatement and Can Tax Court Remove Your Late-Filing Penalty?

Other Disaster Tax Relief

A disaster can also bring relief that is not a postponement. A loss from a federally declared disaster can be claimed, by election, on the prior year's return (IRC § 165(i); Publication 547; Medical or Casualty-Loss Deduction Denied?).

If the President declared a major disaster (an emergency or state declaration does not count), your main home was in the disaster area during the disaster and you had an economic loss from it, up to $22,000 taken from a retirement plan on or after the disaster's start and before the 180th day after the later of that date or the declaration can avoid the 10% additional tax (IRC § 72(t)(11); Form 8915-F; Taxed on a Retirement Withdrawal?). And qualified disaster relief payments are generally tax-free (IRC § 139).

What To Do Now

  1. Write down your notice's date and the last day printed on it, and check the count yourself with the § 7502 guide.
  2. Find the IRS release for your disaster on Around the Nation. Note the counties, the start date, the end date and the declaration number, and print it. If there is no release yet, check FEMA's list at FEMA.gov/disaster.
  3. Check whether your last day falls between the start and end dates. If it does, the end date is your deadline. If your last day came before the disaster began, the postponement does not help.
  4. Filing by the printed date, if you still can, takes the question off the table.
  5. If you rely on the postponement, file by the release's end date and keep proof of your address, or of where your records or preparer were.
  6. If you live outside the area but qualify, call 866-562-5227 before your deadline, explain why, and give the declaration number.
  7. If the IRS moves to dismiss, answer by the Court's date with the release, your proof and a signed declaration; a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic may help. In a CDP case, raise any § 7508A point about the tax, penalties or interest at your hearing with Appeals.
  8. To get copies of old returns for your proof, the releases say to put the declaration number at the top of Form 4506 or 4506-T, and the IRS waives the fee.

Resources

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified tax professional or attorney.

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