IRS gives Texans in 62 storm-hit counties until February 1, 2027, to file and pay

The Internal Revenue Service has postponed federal tax deadlines for individuals and businesses in 62 Texas counties affected by severe storms that began on July 14, 2026. Under the IRS notice issued on October 27 (TX-2026-05), affected taxpayers have until February 1, 2027, to file many federal returns and make tax payments that fell due on or after July 14.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced the relief on October 28. His office said he issued a state disaster proclamation covering the 62 counties on July 14 and asked for the tax relief on October 15. "Texans who took damage from the July storms and floods now have more time to file and pay federal taxes," Abbott said.

Who qualifies

The covered counties are Atascosa, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Brazoria, Brewster, Burnet, Caldwell, Colorado, Comal, Crockett, DeWitt, Dimmit, Edwards, Fayette, Fort Bend, Frio, Galveston, Gillespie, Goliad, Gonzales, Grimes, Guadalupe, Harris, Hays, Jackson, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, La Salle, Lavaca, Lee, Live Oak, Llano, Mason, Matagorda, Maverick, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Mitchell, Pecos, Real, Schleicher, Sutton, Terrell, Travis, Uvalde, Val Verde, Victoria, Waller, Washington, Webb, Wharton, Williamson, Wilson, Zapata and Zavala.

The relief covers people who live in those counties and businesses, including tax-exempt organizations, whose principal place of business is there. It also covers taxpayers elsewhere whose records needed to meet a deadline are in the area, relief workers with recognized government or philanthropic organizations, and visitors who were killed or injured in the disaster.

The IRS says it automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered area and applies the relief. Affected taxpayers whose address is outside it should call IRS Special Services at 866-562-5227.

Which deadlines move

Taxpayers who receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice for a deadline inside the postponement period should call the number on the notice to have the penalty removed, the IRS says. Under the Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act, Public Law 119-64, the postponement also counts as an extension when the IRS calculates the time limit for claiming a refund or credit.

Other help in the notice

• Payment plans: missed payments during the postponement will not cause an installment agreement to default. Reminder notices and direct debits continue, and the usual interest and late-payment penalties keep accruing. To pause a direct debit, contact the IRS or your bank.
• Copies of past returns: the IRS waives its usual fees. Write the declaration number, SD-0018-DR, in bold letters at the top of Form 4506 or Form 4506-T.
• Disaster payments: qualified disaster relief payments, such as government payments for necessary living or funeral expenses or for repairing a home or replacing its contents, are generally excluded from income.
• Retirement savings: people in a retirement plan or IRA should ask the plan administrator or IRA provider whether a hardship withdrawal or other relief is available.

How it compares with last year

The timing and the type of disaster declaration differ from the relief after last year's floods. In 2025, the IRS announced relief on July 9, a week after storms and flooding that began on July 2, following a declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (4879-DR). That notice was expanded twice in August 2025 and in the end covered 22 counties, including Kerr, with a deadline of February 2, 2026. Fourteen of this year's 62 counties were also on that list.

This year's notice cites a disaster declaration issued by the State of Texas and came about three and a half months after the storms began. Last year's notice also told taxpayers in the federally declared area that they could claim disaster-related casualty losses on their return for either the year of the disaster or the prior year; this year's notice does not mention that option.

Texas is not alone. The IRS list of disaster relief notices for 2026 shows deadlines postponed to February 1, 2027, for disasters in states including Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Washington.