The IRS has postponed certain tax filing deadlines for individuals and businesses in Washington due to recent extreme weather. The time to file returns and pay any taxes (including estimated income tax payments) originally due on or after Dec. 9, 2025, are postponed through May 1, 2026, and affected taxpayers will not be subject to penalties for failure to file or pay taxes (including estimated tax installments) as long as such returns are filed and payments are paid on or before May 1, 2026.
Who Is Affected?
According to the IRS publication WA-2025-03, individuals and households that reside or have a business in Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, King, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Samish, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Whatcom, and Yakima counties qualify for tax relief. As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until May 1, 2026, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period.
Taxpayers not in the covered disaster area, but whose records are necessary to meet a deadline listed in the Treasury. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(c) are in the covered disaster area, are also entitled to relief. In addition, all relief workers affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization assisting with relief activities in the covered disaster area, and any individual visiting the covered disaster area who was killed or injured as a result of the disaster, are entitled to relief.
Please note that residents of these counties with payment obligations to other states may or may not be granted relief for those state payments. Each state has different rules and may not automatically follow federal relief in these instances.
Additional Relief
Under section 7508A, the IRS gives affected taxpayers until May 1, 2026, to file most tax returns (including individual, corporate, and estate and trust income tax returns; partnership returns, S corporation returns, and trust returns; estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns; annual information returns of tax-exempt organizations; and employment and certain excise tax returns), that have either an original or extended due date occurring before May 1, 2026. The IRS also gives affected taxpayers until May 1, 2026, to perform other time-sensitive actions described in Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(c)(1) and Rev. Proc. 2018-58, that are due to be performed on or after Dec. 9, 2025, and before May 1, 2026.
If you’ve been affected by a federally declared disaster and have a retirement plan or IRA, you may be eligible for other relief. For instance, you could take a special disaster distribution that’s not subject to the usual 10% early withdrawal penalty, and you may be able to spread the income over three years. For more information, see Disaster relief frequently asked questions: Retirement plans and IRAs under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.
The IRS may offer additional disaster relief in the future. If you don’t qualify for disaster relief, you may still be eligible for penalty abatement due to reasonable cause.
Please speak with your CBIZ tax advisor about any questions you may have regarding this notice or other tax matters.
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