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IRS, PBGC Extend Hurricane Relief to More Matthew Victims

The IRS and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) have announced that they are granting relief to victims of Hurricane Matthew in hard-hit parts of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. They had taken similar action concerning North Carolina on Oct. 12.

The IRS made its announcements in SC-2016-21, GA-2016-05 and FL-2016-12. The PBGC announced that is waiving certain penalties and extending certain deadlines for South Carolinians in Disaster Relief Announcement 16-13, for Floridians in Disaster Relief Announcement 16-14 and for Georgians in Disaster Relief Announcement 16-15.

IRS

The IRS relief for South Carolina applies to taxpayers in Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Lee, Sumter and Williamsburg counties. In addition, individuals who reside or have a business in Marion and Orangeburg Counties may qualify for the tax relief.

The declaration permits the IRS to postpone certain deadlines for taxpayers who live in, or have a business in, the disaster area. For instance:

  • Certain deadlines falling on or after Oct. 4, 2016, and on or before March 15, 2017 have been postponed to March 15, 2017. This includes the Jan. 17, 2017 deadline for making quarterly estimated tax payments and the 2015 individual returns on extension to Oct. 17. Also included are the Oct 31 and Jan 31 deadlines for quarterly payroll and excise tax returns.

  • The IRS is waiving the failure-to-deposit penalties for employment and excise tax deposits due on or after Oct. 4, as long as the deposits were made by Oct. 19, 2016.

If an affected taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original or extended filing, payment or deposit due date that falls within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the telephone number on the notice to have the IRS abate the penalty.

The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies automatic filing and payment relief. But affected taxpayers who reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area must call the IRS disaster hotline at 866-562-5227 to request this tax relief.

The IRS said on Oct. 18 that it is granting the same relief in hard-hit parts of Georgia. That relief is available to taxpayers in Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty and McIntosh Counties. On the same day it also said it is granting that relief in Brevard, Duval, Flagler, Indian River, Nassau, St. Johns, St. Lucie and Volusia Counties in Florida.

PBGC

The PBGC relief is for designated persons — those responsible for meeting a PBGC deadline (e.g., a plan administrator or contributing sponsor) and who are located in the disaster area for which the IRS has provided relief. This area consists of the counties of Marion and Orangeburg in South Carolina, the counties of Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty and McIntosh in Georgia and the counties of Brevard, Duval, Flagler, Indian River, Nassau, St. Johns, St. Lucie and Volusia Counties in Florida.

The relief includes the following:

Premiums. If the plan administrator of a plan is a Designated Person, the PBGC will, for purposes of assessing any late payment or late information penalty, treat as timely any premium filing required to be made for the plan beginning on or after Oct. 4, 2016, and on or before March 15, 2017, if the filing is made by March 15, 2017.

Plan Terminations. If the plan administrator of a plan that is terminating in a standard termination is a Designated Person, any of the following plan termination deadlines for the plan that fall on or after Oct. 4, 2016, and on or before March 15, 2017, are extended to March 15, 2017:

  • the deadline for filing the standard termination notice (Form 500);

  • the deadline for completing the distribution of plan assets; and

  • the deadline for filing the post-distribution certification (Form 501) without penalty.

Distress Terminations. If the plan administrator of a plan that is terminating in a distress termination is a Designated Person and the deadline for filing the distress termination notice (Form 601) falls on or after Oct. 4, 2016, and on or before March 15, 2017, that deadline is extended to March 15, 2017.

Reportable Event Notices. If a Designated Person is responsible for filing a reportable event post-event notice for which the deadline falls on or after Oct. 4, 2016, and on or before March 15, 2017, that person’s filing deadline is extended to March 15, 2017.

Annual Employer Reporting. The PBGC requires annual financial and actuarial information reporting in certain cases by contributing sponsors (and their controlled group members) maintaining plans with large underfunding or certain missed contributions or funding waivers. The PBGC will grant relief where appropriate on a case-by-case basis for these reports.

Requests for Reconsideration or Appeals. The deadline for requesting review of a PBGC determination under PBGC's regulation on Rules for Administrative Review of Agency Decisions is generally 45 days (for an appeal) or 30 days (for a request for reconsideration) after the date of the determination. If the deadline for filing an appeal or a request for reconsideration of the determination falls on or after Oct. 4, 2016, and on or before March 15, 2017, that person’s deadline for filing the appeal or request for reconsideration is extended to March 15, 2017.