IRS and Maine Revenue Services Provide More Storm-Related Filing Extensions

By Stanley Rose April 11, 2024

Following up on a newsletter alert we sent several weeks ago regarding storm-related filing extensions in some New England states due to weather-related incidents, Maine’s shovel-weary residents knew all too well that more storms were in store for us. As a result, some additional deadline extensions have followed. The IRS and Maine Revenue Services recently expanded the list of counties in which residents and business owners qualify for automatic extensions of time to file certain tax returns and pay related taxes. Now, all counties but Aroostook have some sort of concession.

The relief is automatic, meaning no action is needed to apply for the extensions of time. Also, no evidence of being negatively impacted by the storms is needed. It applies to those “affected” by the storms, which is defined as those who live in or own businesses located in specific counties.

More detail can be found in the links below. Examples of tax returns and payments impacted by these storm-related filing extensions are individual, fiduciary, partnership and S corporation income tax returns, individual gift tax returns, payments of tax with those returns, and payments of quarterly estimated tax and federal payroll tax. (The types of tax eligible for Maine’s state relief is limited to income and franchise taxes. Others, like payroll and use tax, receive no extensions.)

There are two new deadlines provided: June 17, 2024 or July 15, 2024. The applicable date is based on the county in which an individual or business resides. The June 17 deadline applies to tax returns and payments of tax that otherwise would have been due or payable between December 17, 2023 and June 17, 2024; allowing those actions to be considered timely if accomplished by June 17, 2024. The July 15 deadline applies to tax returns and payments of tax that otherwise would have been due or payable between January 9, 2024 and July 15, 2024; allowing those actions to be considered timely if accomplished by July 15, 2024.

Here is a list of the counties and the new deadlines, as well as links to the authoritative guidance that announced the relief:

June 17, 2024 Deadline	July 15, 2024 Deadline
Androscoggin	Cumberland
Franklin	Hancock
Hancock	Knox
Kennebec	Lincoln
Oxford	Sagadahoc
Penobscot	Waldo
Piscataquis	Washington
Somerset	York
Waldo
Washington
IRS IR-2024-32	IRS IR-2024-93
MRS Alert Volume 34, Issue 3	MRS Alert Volume 34, Issue 7

The astute reader may notice that the headcount of counties listed above, after adding the unfortunately omitted Aroostook, yields more than the 16 Maine counties. This occurs because some counties were impacted by both storms, received two concessions, and therefore appear in both lists above. In other words, those counties originally received a June 17 deadline, but were then granted another month to July 15. (Their coverage period extends further backward – to December 17 – than other counties on the July 15 list.)

At BNN, we are continuing to finalize as many returns as possible on or before the original filing deadlines. We also note that many taxpayers file state returns in jurisdictions other than Maine, and those state returns, and payments of those state taxes, do not qualify for this relief.

For more information, please contact Stanley Rose or your BNN tax advisor at 800.244.7444.