Help with disaster relief

General

  1. What tax relief is available if my principal residence or place of business is in one of the 41 counties identified as a disaster area from the California storms?

    2. If your principal residence or place of business is in one of the 41 counties identified as a disaster area, income tax filing and payment deadlines that fall between January 8, 2023, and May 15, 2023, are due on May 15, 2023. This applies to individual returns and taxes that are due on April 18, 2023, and business entity returns and taxes that are due on March 15, 2023, or April 18, 2023.

  2. Do I need to demonstrate that I was affected by the California storms that led to the disaster declaration, or do I automatically receive an extension to file and pay because I reside in one of the 41 counties designated as a covered disaster area?

    3. If your principal residence or place of business is in one of the 41 counties that are part of the declared disaster area, you are an affected taxpayer and entitled to relief. No supporting documentation is required. This applies to individual returns and taxes that are due on April 18, 2023, and business entity returns and taxes that are due on March 15, 2023, or April 18, 2023.

  3. If I am not in a covered disaster area but my tax records necessary to meet a filing of payment deadline are located with my tax practitioner who is in a covered disaster area, do I qualify for relief?

    4. If you are not in a covered disaster area but your tax records necessary to meet a filing or payment tax deadline are located with your tax practitioner in a covered disaster area, you still qualify for the disaster relief.

  4. The IRS is asking tax practitioners to furnish a list of affected clients, and a power of attorney signed by each affected client, so the IRS can code the disaster relief extension for the relevant accounts. Will FTB provide a similar procedure and would FTB require a power of attorney for each client?

    5. A list of affected taxpayers is not required because the relief is automatically granted based on the zip code of the taxpayer's residence or principal place of business being in one of the 41 counties in the disaster area.

  5. Does the payment deadline that is moved to May 15, 2023, also apply to a passthrough entity elective tax that is due on March 15, 2023?

    6. Yes. If a taxpayer in a covered disaster area has a filing or payment deadline that falls between January 8, 2023, and May 15, 2023, the filing or payment will be considered timely if made on or before May 15, 2023. This basic rule applies to any passthrough entity elective tax that is due on March 15, 2023.

  6. Are FTB's systems equipped to provide proper payment identification for all types of extended deadline payments and for all types of taxpayer entities?

    7. Yes. FTB will be able to identify and categorize the payments automatically. For example:

    • If a taxpayer uses Web Pay on May 15, 2023, to make an estimated tax payment for tax year 2023, FTB will accept that payment request and process the payment as a timely estimated tax payment for the 2023 tax year.
    • If a taxpayer electronically files a tax return under the automatic six-month extension, for example by October 15, 2023, and remits payment by May 15, 2023, the payment will be considered a timely extension payment.

  7. Will the tax returns and payments of a trust or estate in a covered disaster area for the 2022 tax year be considered timely if made by May 15, 2023?

    8. Yes, the postponement period for returns or payments due between January 8, 2023, and May 15, 2023, applies to affected trust and estate tax returns and payments.

  8. I am an affected taxpayer who received a bill for a late filing penalty or late payment penalty relating to an original or extended due date that fell during the disaster postponement period. Can I have the penalty abated?

    9. Yes. If you are an affected taxpayer who received a bill for a late filing penalty or late payment penalty relating to a due date that fell between January 8, 2023, and May 15, 2023, and you timely filed your return and paid your tax by May 15, 2023, you should contact FTB to have the penalty abated.

  9. I am an affected taxpayer who began an Internal Revenue Code section 1031 transaction with either a 45-day identification period or a 180-day exchange period that hadn’t expired by January 8, 2023. Does the disaster postponement to May 15, 2023, apply to these transactions?

    10. Yes. If the last day of the 45-day identification period or the last day of the 180-day exchange period falls on or after January 8, 2023, the deadline for an affected taxpayer is postponed by 120 days or to May 15, 2023, whichever is later. The postponement period may not extend beyond the earlier of: the due date of the taxpayer’s return (including extensions) for the year of the transfer or one year.

    A taxpayer is an affected taxpayer if the taxpayer’s principal residence is in one of the 41 California counties identified by the federal government as the covered disaster area. In addition, a taxpayer qualifies for a postponement if the taxpayer had difficulty meeting the 45-day identification period or the 180-day exchange period due to the federally declared disaster for any of the following reasons:

    1. The relinquished property or the replacement property is located in the covered disaster area.
    2. The principal place of business of any party to the transaction is located in the covered disaster area.
    3. Any of the other reasons outlined in Revenue Procedure 2018-58, Section 17, Special Rules for Section 1031 Like-Kind Exchange Transactions.