Treasury, IRS Notices Provide Emergency Relief for Certain Taxpayers, September 2001

Washington, DC, September 18, 2001 - The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have made several announcements regarding relief for taxpayers as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.

Tax Relief for All Taxpayers
Notice 2001-63 provides generally that the due date for all federal tax obligations falling between September 10 and September 24, 2001 is postponed until September 24, 2001. This blanket extension for federal tax obligations does not apply, however, to deposits of federal taxes. Nevertheless, as provided in Notice 2001-61, the IRS will waive the penalty for any late tax deposits-that were originally required to be made from September 11, 2001 through October 31, 2001-if the deposit is made on or before November 15, 2001 because reasonable cause for the failure exists during this period. This relief is only applicable to taxpayers who are unable to meet their deposit obligations because their (or their service provider's) records, computers, or other essential supporting services were damaged, or essential personnel were injured, by the attack.

Tax Relief for "Affected" Taxpayers
Additional tax relief is provided for, among others, the following three groups of taxpayers:

Taxpayers residing within the "covered disaster area:" the New York counties of Bronx, Kings, New York (boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan), Queens, and Richmond, as well as Arlington County, Virginia;
Other taxpayers, regardless of where they reside, who are victims of the four plane crashes (including those on the planes and on the ground); are assisting in the relief efforts at the crash sites; have a place of employment located within the covered disaster area; or whose records necessary to meet a filing or paying deadline are maintained in the covered disaster area; and
Taxpayers (not covered under one of the above two categories) who have difficulty meeting their federal tax obligations because of disruptions in the transportation and delivery of documents by mail or private delivery services resulting from the terrorist attack.

The tax relief provided to the first two categories of taxpayers is broad. Among other things, the time for filing 2000 federal individual income tax returns for those with extensions to file after September 10, 2001 is postponed until February 12, 2002. Similar delays in filing requirements are provided for taxpayers other than individuals. The due date for making any tax year 2001 estimated tax payment originally due between September 11, 2001 and January 15, 2002 is postponed until January 15, 2002. In addition, IRS News Release 2001-81 provides that the IRS will suspend for six months many enforcement activities, such as levies, seizures and summonses, for these taxpayers.

The tax relief provided to the third category of taxpayers applies to filings and payments originally required to be made between September 11, 2001 and October 31, 2001. The deadline for these is extended until November 15, 2001.