Taxpayers covered by IRS disaster relief for severe storms and flooding in the San Carlos Apache Tribe area face a September 28 deadline for many postponed federal tax filings and payments. The relief is limited to eligible affected taxpayers; it is not a nationwide extension.
According to the IRS, qualifying individuals who live in the covered area and businesses whose principal place of business is there can use the postponement. Others whose records needed to meet a deadline are in the covered area can also qualify. The IRS lists additional categories, including eligible relief workers. The postponed window generally covers specified deadlines originally falling on or after October 10, 2025, and before September 28, 2026.
Estimated income tax payments that originally fell in that window are postponed through September 28. The IRS says affected taxpayers will not be penalized for failing to pay those installments if they pay by that date. Not every form or deposit is covered: the agency lists exceptions for certain information returns and employment and excise tax deposits. Anyone relying on the relief should check the complete IRS notice against their own filing obligation.
Eligible taxpayers in the federally declared disaster area may also choose whether to claim qualifying uncovered casualty losses for the disaster year or the prior year. The IRS says individual taxpayers have until October 15, 2026, to make that election. A casualty-loss claim involves separate eligibility and documentation rules; the postponed filing deadline does not automatically establish a deductible loss.
Financialist's Arizona debt-help guide covers a different topic, state debt rules, for readers managing obligations after the storm. It does not explain eligibility for federal disaster tax relief; use the IRS notice for that decision.