The IRS has postponed a wide range of federal tax deadlines to February 8, 2027 for people and businesses in 27 Florida counties affected by Hurricane Isaias. A parallel announcement covers 40 Alabama counties, with a February 4, 2027 deadline.
The relief is agency guidance, not a new law, and it applies automatically to taxpayers whose IRS address of record is in a covered county. Taxpayers elsewhere, and some filings, are handled differently.
Which Florida counties get the February 8 deadline
In its Florida announcement, release FL-2026-07 dated October 14, 2026, the IRS lists 27 counties: Baker, Bay, Calhoun, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton and Washington.
The release cites FEMA emergency declaration 3655-EM. Taxpayers who claim a disaster loss are told to write that number on the return and at the top of any Form 4506 or 4506-T used to request copies or transcripts.
One wrinkle: the IRS added an update note on October 22 saying the relief start date changed from October 9 to October 6, 2026, to match the FEMA incident period. Most of the release text still says October 9. Either way, the postponed deadline stays February 8, 2027.
Next step: A late-filing or late-payment penalty notice that arrives during the Florida or Alabama postponement period is the piece of this relief the announcement leaves for each taxpayer to sort out. The notice decoder in The IRS Refund Recovery Kit is built to help read what an IRS notice is actually asking for.
Which tax deadlines move and which do not
The Florida release says returns and payments with original or extended due dates falling in the relief period are postponed, including individual, corporate, partnership, S corporation, estate and trust, gift, and tax-exempt organization filings. Estimated income tax payments originally due on or after the start date are postponed through February 8, 2027.
Quarterly payroll and certain excise returns normally due November 2, 2026 and February 1, 2027 are covered. Individuals with a valid extension for their 2025 return are covered too, but the release says the related 2025 tax payments were due April 15, 2026 and are not eligible for the later date.
Information returns in the W-2, 1094, 1095, 1097, 1098 and 1099 series are not covered, nor are Forms 1042-S, 3921, 3922 and 8027. Employment and excise tax deposits are handled through a separate, short penalty-abatement window rather than the February 8 date.
The January 15, 2027 estimated tax payment is not named in the release. As arithmetic only, that date falls between the start of the relief period and February 8, so it sits inside the window the IRS describes.
Alabama’s 40 counties and the February 4 deadline
The IRS Alabama announcement, release AL-2026-01, also dated October 14, covers 40 counties: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Chambers, Chilton, Clarke, Choctaw, Coffee, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Dallas, Elmore, Escambia, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Washington and Wilcox.
Alabama’s relief period starts October 7, 2026. The page cites a disaster declaration issued by the State of Alabama and IRS number AL-0017-DR rather than a FEMA number. The categories of covered and excluded filings match Florida’s, with February 4, 2027 as the postponed date. The two states have different dates, so a taxpayer with ties to both has to check each.
Automatic relief, penalty notices and the 866-562-5227 line
Both releases say the IRS automatically identifies taxpayers in the covered area and applies filing and payment relief, with no application. Taxpayers who live or do business outside the area and need relief must request it by calling IRS Special Services at 866-562-5227.
If a late-filing or late-payment penalty notice arrives for a due date inside the postponement period, the IRS says to call the number printed on the notice to have the penalty abated. Installment agreement payments missed during the period will not trigger default, but interest and late-payment penalties keep accruing under those agreements.
The IRS also says it will waive fees for copies of prior-year returns for affected taxpayers.
Casualty losses and the mistake that costs the most
Taxpayers in a federally declared disaster area can choose to claim disaster-related casualty losses on the return for the year of the loss or on the prior-year return, according to the Florida release. A prior-year claim can bring a refund through an amended or earlier-year filing, and the release says the election can be made up to six months after the due date of the disaster-year return, disregarding extensions. Uninsured personal property losses may be deductible.
The likeliest mistake is treating the new date as a payment holiday for everything. The 2025 payments tied to an extension are excluded, information returns are excluded, and interest and late-payment penalties keep accruing under installment agreements. Another is assuming relief reaches every county in the state: it does not, and a Florida address outside the 27 counties is not covered by this announcement.
The IRS maintains a tax relief in disaster situations page that lists both Isaias releases and points to its current list of eligible localities.
Penalty notices and refund waits after a disaster-area filing
The IRS announcements for Florida and Alabama say that a penalty notice dated inside the postponement period should be handled by calling the number printed on it. A casualty-loss claim on a prior-year return can also mean a refund that takes time to arrive, which leaves the reading of notices and the tracking of that refund as unfinished paperwork.
The IRS Refund Recovery Kit is a 13-page kit with a notice decoder and a refund status tracker spreadsheet for following where a return or refund stands.
Open the notice decoder in The IRS Refund Recovery Kit.
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy against IRS disaster relief announcements FL-2026-07 and AL-2026-01 and the IRS tax relief in disaster situations page.
Julian Harrow specializes in taxation, IRS rules, and compliance strategy. His work helps readers navigate complex tax codes, deadlines, and reporting requirements while identifying opportunities for efficiency and risk reduction. At The Daily Overview, Julian breaks down tax-related topics with precision and clarity, making a traditionally dense subject easier to understand.
