Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act

Jeremy Springer
5 days ago
2 min read

Signed into law on July 24, 2025, the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act authorizes the IRS to postpone federal tax deadlines for taxpayers affected by a qualified state-declared disaster, upon written request by the state governor. The new law also increases the automatic extension of federal tax deadlines for certain taxpayers.

Under prior law, the IRS may postpone federal tax deadlines for taxpayers affected by a federally-declared disaster, including (but not limited to) deadlines for (1) filing federal tax returns, (2) paying federal taxes, (3) making retirement plan contributions, and (4) tax assessments and collections.

The new law authorizes the IRS to postpone these federal tax deadlines for taxpayers affected by a qualified state-declared disaster upon written request by the state’s governor (or the District of Columbia mayor). A state includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The new law defines a qualified state-declared disaster as any natural catastrophe, fire, flood, or explosion that causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant a request to postpone such federal tax deadlines.

Under prior law, an automatic 60-day extension of these federal tax deadlines applies to certain relief workers, individuals killed or injured as a result of a federally-declared disaster, and taxpayers whose principal residence, business, or tax records are located in a federally-declared disaster area. The new law increases to 120 days the automatic extension of federal tax deadlines for these taxpayers.

Legal Disclaimer: This post contains general information for taxpayers and should not be relied upon as the only source of authority. Taxpayers should seek professional tax advice for more information. This information was current at time of posting; we are not responsible for updating this or any blog post/article for subsequent changes in the law or its interpretation.