Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act

The Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act would change how the IRS handles tax deadlines when they are postponed due to federally declared disasters or certain other events. Currently, when the federal tax return deadline is postponed, it does not count as an extension for purposes of determining how much of a tax refund someone can claim. This bill would require the IRS to treat such postponements as extensions, which could allow taxpayers to include more of their tax payments in the three-year lookback period used to calculate refund eligibility.

The bill would also apply similar treatment to the IRS's deadline for sending notices demanding tax payment. Under current law, the IRS must send such notices within 60 days of assessing a tax, but the bill would clarify that any postponement of the payment deadline due to a disaster counts toward this requirement. If enacted, these changes could benefit taxpayers in disaster areas by ensuring they are not penalized for missed deadlines that were postponed due to circumstances beyond their control. The bill is currently in committee and has not yet been voted on by the full Senate.