The IRS extended certain federal filing and payment deadlines for individuals and businesses in 62 Texas counties affected by July storms. Eligible taxpayers now have until Feb. 1, 2027, to meet covered obligations.
Background: IRS Offers Tax Relief to 5 Mississippi Counties After May Storms and Flooding
The agency announced the relief on October 27, 2026, in notice TX-2026-05. The storms began on July 14, 2026. The extension applies to specified federal returns and payments, not every tax obligation connected to the disaster.
The postponement applies to deadlines within a defined period. Some taxpayers outside the designated counties may also qualify.
Residents, businesses and some relief workers qualify automatically
Residents and households in the covered counties qualify, as do businesses, including tax-exempt organizations, whose principal place of business is in the disaster area. The agency identifies eligible taxpayers in the area automatically; residents and businesses in a covered county do not have to prove storm damage to receive that treatment.
The 62 counties are Atascosa, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Brazoria, Brewster, Burnet, Caldwell, Colorado, Comal, Crockett, DeWitt, Dimmit, Edwards, Fayette, Fort Bend, Frio, Galveston, Gillespie, Goliad, Gonzales, Grimes, Guadalupe, Harris, Hays, Jackson, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, La Salle, Lavaca, Lee, Live Oak, Llano, Mason, Matagorda, Maverick, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Mitchell, Pecos, Real, Schleicher, Sutton, Terrell, Travis, Uvalde, Val Verde, Victoria, Waller, Washington, Webb, Wharton, Williamson, Wilson, Zapata and Zavala. The designation treats them as a covered disaster area under Treas. Reg. §301.7508A-1(d)(2).
The relief extends beyond people who live or operate a business in those counties. Taxpayers elsewhere qualify if records needed to meet a deadline are located in the disaster area. Relief workers affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization also qualify, as do people who were visiting the area and were killed or injured because of the disaster.
People who qualify through those circumstances but live or operate outside the covered area should call the agency’s Special Services line at 866-562-5227 to request relief. The automatic identification process applies to taxpayers located in the designated area.
The postponement covers a defined window but excludes some 2025 tax payments
The extension applies to deadlines falling on or after July 14, 2026, and before the extended filing date. Affected individuals and businesses can use the additional time for eligible returns and tax payments originally due during that window.
For 2025 individual income tax returns, the new filing date applies only to people who already had a valid extension to file. The associated payments were due on April 15, 2026, and are not eligible for this relief. The postponement moves the filing deadline for qualifying taxpayers, not that earlier payment date.
Quarterly payroll and certain excise tax returns normally due on July 31, 2026, and Nov. 2, 2026, receive additional time. Quarterly estimated income tax payments originally due during the postponement period are included. Eligible taxpayers avoid penalties for missing those installments if they pay by the extended date.
Eligible corporate, partnership and other business returns with deadlines during the covered period also qualify. The relief covers federal filing and payment deadlines in the designated disaster area.
Deposit penalties, refund claims and installment plans have separate rules
A separate provision covers payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after July 14, 2026, and before July 29, 2026. The agency will abate penalties on those deposits if taxpayers make the deposits by that date.
The Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act, Public Law 119-64, changes how the postponement affects refund claims. Under the law, delaying a federal return deadline under section 7508A counts as an extension when calculating the time limit to claim a refund or credit. Affected taxpayers therefore receive additional time under that calculation.
Existing IRS installment agreements receive narrower protection. A missed payment during the postponement period will not cause an agreement to default, but interest and late-payment penalties can continue to accrue. The extension does not suspend those charges.
Taxpayers who receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice tied to an original due date within the postponement period should call the telephone number printed on the notice to request abatement. That instruction also applies to a notice involving a covered deposit deadline.
Abbott requested relief after declaring a state disaster
Gov. Greg Abbott issued a state disaster proclamation covering the 62 counties on July 14, 2026, the day the storms began. He asked for federal tax relief on Oct. 15. A Major Disaster Declaration had been approved on September 1, 2026, for 23 of the counties.
In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Abbott urged the federal government to suspend tax deadlines and waive late fees and penalties. He wrote:
“Texans who took damage from the July storms and floods need this relief. I urge Secretary Bessent to suspend the tax deadlines and waive all late fees and penalties so families and businesses can rebuild.”
After the relief was granted, Abbott thanked Bessent and the agency, saying affected Texans had more time to file and pay while families and businesses rebuilt. The governor’s request sought a broader waiver of late fees and penalties; the relief announced by the agency sets out the covered deadlines and specific penalty provisions.
A taxpayer who receives a penalty notice for a covered deadline should use the phone number on that notice to ask the agency to abate it.
