- The IRS extended federal tax deadlines to July 8, 2026, for Hawaii storm victims in four major counties.
- Affected taxpayers in Hawaii have until July 20, 2026, to meet state income tax filing and payment obligations.
- A new federal law protects tax refund claims by aligning refund windows with the disaster-related filing extensions.
(HAWAII) – The IRS extended federal tax deadlines to July 8, 2026 for taxpayers affected by severe storms that began in Hawaii on March 10, 2026, giving individuals and businesses across four counties more time to file returns, make payments and handle other tax obligations.
The federal relief applies in Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai and Maui counties. It covers a range of deadlines for both individuals and businesses, including individual income tax returns and payments, quarterly payroll filings, certain excise tax payments and business tax filings.
Taxpayers whose deadlines fell between March 10, 2026, and July 8, 2026, will receive the relief automatically. People outside the covered disaster area who were still affected by the storms can request relief from the IRS.
The extension follows severe storms that began on March 10, 2026, and triggered tax relief at both the federal and state levels. Hawaii also moved its own state income tax filing and payment deadline, giving eligible residents and businesses until July 20, 2026.
That means storm-affected taxpayers in the state are working with two separate calendars. Federal tax obligations now run to July 8, 2026, while Hawaii state income tax filing and payment obligations run to July 20, 2026.
The state Department of Taxation also said it may extend filing and payment deadlines on a case-by-case basis for affected residents. That leaves room for additional relief beyond the statewide extension already announced.
At the federal level, the IRS relief reaches beyond the annual income tax return. Quarterly payroll filings are included. Certain excise tax payments are included. Business tax filings are included as well.
Individuals and companies in the four named counties do not need to file a separate request for relief if their deadlines fall inside the covered period. The IRS said it will identify those taxpayers and apply the postponement automatically.
Storm victims outside Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai and Maui counties face a different process. They can still seek the same treatment, but they must contact the IRS to ask for it.
The recently enacted Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act, also known as H.R. 1491, adds another layer to the relief. Under that law, postponement of a federal tax return deadline counts as an extension for purposes of calculating the limit on a tax refund.
That change affects refund claims and credits. A delayed filing date does not simply postpone paperwork; it also gives affected taxpayers additional time to claim refunds or credits that might otherwise run into timing limits.
The provision matters in disaster cases because filing deadlines and refund limitation periods often move on different tracks. Here, the Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act ties them together for affected taxpayers whose federal return deadlines were postponed.
In practical terms, a taxpayer who qualifies for the Hawaii storm relief and files later under the extended deadline still gets the benefit of extra time when calculating the period for claiming a refund. The same treatment applies to credits tied to that extension.
The IRS also announced targeted relief on deposit penalties. Penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due between March 10, 2026, and March 25, 2026, will be waived if the deposits are made by March 25, 2026.
That window is narrower than the broader filing extension. The waiver covers deposits due during the first 15 days after the storms began, and it depends on taxpayers making those deposits by the same March 25, 2026 deadline.
Employers and businesses that missed a payroll or excise tax deposit during that period therefore have a defined path to avoid penalties. The deposit must have been due between March 10, 2026, and March 25, 2026, and it must be made by March 25, 2026.
Federal and state relief do not operate identically. The IRS postponement reaches a broad set of federal returns, filings and payments. Hawaii’s relief, as announced, centers on state income tax filing and payment deadlines through July 20, 2026.
That split means taxpayers with business activity, payroll obligations or excise tax responsibilities may need to separate federal treatment from state treatment rather than assume one extension covers everything. The dates are different. So is the scope.
The IRS also offered procedural help for people who need prior filings. It will waive fees for requests for copies of previously filed tax returns.
Anyone making that request should write “Hawaii, Severe Storms” at the top of Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, or Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return. The instruction applies to taxpayers seeking copies or transcripts connected to the disaster relief.
The same phrase appears again in the agency’s disaster-loss instructions. Taxpayers claiming disaster losses on their returns should put “Hawaii, Severe Storms” on any return.
That notation helps tie the filing to the disaster designation. It also gives the IRS a consistent way to identify claims and requests linked to the March 2026 storms.
Individuals with uninsured losses may have another tax option. The IRS said personal property losses not covered by insurance or other reimbursements may be deducted using Form 4684.
Form 4684 is the form tied to casualty and theft losses, and in this case it becomes part of the storm recovery process for some households. Taxpayers who suffered damage to personal property and did not receive full reimbursement can use that form to calculate a deduction.
The instruction on uninsured losses sits alongside the broader filing relief, but it addresses a different problem. Deadline relief postpones when returns and payments are due. A disaster-loss deduction can change what a taxpayer owes in the first place.
Those two forms of assistance may overlap for some Hawaii residents. A taxpayer who suffered storm damage, needs records from an earlier return and also qualifies for the filing extension may interact with several parts of the IRS relief package at once.
Businesses face the same layered set of rules. An employer in Honolulu County may receive the automatic federal postponement to July 8, 2026, qualify for penalty relief on certain payroll or excise deposits due by March 25, 2026, and still need to watch Hawaii’s separate state income tax deadline of July 20, 2026.
County coverage remains central to the automatic relief. The IRS named Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai and Maui counties, and taxpayers in those counties whose deadlines fell inside the covered period do not need to take a first step to be recognized for the postponement.
That automatic treatment is often the most immediate part of disaster tax relief because it removes the need for each individual filer or business to submit a separate request. People outside the covered area, even if they were affected by the same storms, still need to contact the IRS.
Hawaii’s state action gives storm-affected filers a little more time than the federal extension. The state deadline runs until July 20, 2026, 12 days after the federal deadline of July 8, 2026.
That gap may matter for taxpayers preparing both returns after weeks or months of disruption. Federal forms, payments and refund claims tied to the IRS relief still point to July 8, 2026. State income tax filing and payment, at least for those covered by Hawaii’s announcement, point to July 20, 2026.
The calendar also reflects how disaster response can differ across agencies. The IRS tied its relief period to deadlines falling between March 10, 2026, and July 8, 2026. Hawaii’s Department of Taxation added its own extension and kept open the option of further case-by-case adjustments.
For taxpayers trying to sort records after storm damage, the fee waiver on copies of previously filed returns may prove as useful as the later filing date. The notation “Hawaii, Severe Storms” on Form 4506 or Form 4506-T turns that request into part of the same disaster-relief process.
The combined package leaves Hawaii taxpayers with a defined set of dates and instructions after the March storms: federal deadlines postponed to July 8, 2026, state income tax deadlines extended to July 20, 2026, deposit penalties waived for certain payroll and excise tax obligations if paid by March 25, 2026, and extra time to claim refunds or credits under the Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act.
