In a Tuesday press release, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that victims of the deadly tornadoes that swept across parts of Tennessee and Illinois will have an extended deadline for filing their taxes this year. The announcement came days after the IRS first announced a tax-filing deadline for victims in Kentucky affected by the tornadoes.

The new deadline for those affected by the deadly weather to file and pay 2021 taxes in 2022 is now May 16, 2022. The new May 16th filing deadline includes individual & business returns, certain other business forms, 2021 IRA contributions, and farmers who forgo estimated tax payments, according to the press release.

Also, quarterly estimated income tax payments normally due on January 18th and April 18th are now delayed for taxpayers in the affected areas. Now, those taxpayers can include those payments with their 2021 taxes filed on May 16, 2022.

Specifically, taxpayers and business owners in the Illinois counties of Bond, Cass, Coles, Effingham, Fayette, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Pike, and Shelby and residents of Cheatham, Decatur, Dickson, Dyer, Gibson, Lake, Obion, Stewart, and Weakley counties in Tennessee are eligible for the deadline extensions. In Kentucky, taxpayers and business owners in Caldwell, Christian, Fulton, Graves, Hart, Hickman, Hopkins, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Taylor, and Warren counties are eligible for the deadline extensions.

However, according to the IRS, the same relief will also be provided to any other areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and neighboring states. In addition, the IRS will work with “any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but whose records necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period are located in the affected area.”

The IRS urges those qualifying for relief who live outside the disaster areas to contact the IRS at 866-562-5227.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]