The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is giving people and businesses impacted by December’s historic flooding more time to file their taxes.
It’s thanks to the disaster declaration issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the following counties: Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, King, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Samish, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Whatcom, and Yakima counties qualify for tax relief.
The declaration permits the IRS to postpone certain tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area.
The May 1, 2026, deadline applies to individual income tax returns and payments normally due on or after Dec, 9, 2025. The May 1, 2026, deadline also applies to 2025 contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts for eligible taxpayers. This relief also applies to the estimated tax payments normally due on Jan 15, 2026, and April 15, 2026. Penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Dec. 9, 2025, and before Dec. 29, 2025, will be abated as long as the tax deposits are made by Dec. 29, 2025.
The May 1, 2026, deadline also applies to affected quarterly payroll and certain excise tax returns normally due on Jan. 31, 2026, and April 30, 2026.
If an affected taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original filing, payment or deposit due date that falls within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the telephone number on the notice to have the IRS abate the penalty. You can learn more about this by clicking here.
In December 2025, Washington experienced historic flooding across the state. Governor Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency as a result. There were thousands of rescues across more than 10 counties, and one person died.
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