PROVIDENCE — Ordinarily, this would be the week for filing your tax returns and paying what you owe. After all, the usual April 15 deadline is just two days away.
But because of the floods, this is no ordinary time. As a result, the Internal Revenue Service on Monday reiterated that Rhode Islanders have until May 11 to file their federal income tax returns and pay what they owe.
At a meeting organized by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and held at the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants office in Providence, IRS senior stakeholder liaison Odette J. Turenne said that the May 11 deadline applies even if you did not suffer a loss from the floods.
The May 11 deadline, the result of a federal disaster declaration, applies to all residents of Rhode Island and to residents of the Massachusetts counties of Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk and Worcester, said IRS spokeswoman Peggy Riley.
In addition, people in those areas who suffered property damage from the floods may be able to claim a deductible loss for tax purposes — and may do so either on their 2009 or 2010 returns, Turenne said.
That gives taxpayers more flexibility, said Jacquelyn H. Tracy, president of the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants. “It gives them the option,” so they can compare which would generate the greatest tax benefit for them, said Tracy, partner in Mandel & Tracy, LLC, a CPA firm in Providence.
If you have already filed your 2009 return, and would like to claim the loss for 2009, you may file an amended return on Form 1040X for 2009, Tracy said.
May 11 is also the deadline for paying a balance due on the 2009 return and that will give taxpayers more flexibility. “I do know people who are going to hold off making payment” until May 11, Tracy said.
By waiting until then, knowing that late-payment penalties and interest will not apply, “You’ve got the use of the funds” for a longer period, which can be especially helpful for cash-flow purposes for small-business owners, she said.
Following are some additional tax-related points that have resulted from the floods:
•May 11 is the deadline for contributing to an IRA and having it count for 2009, Riley said.
•The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has set a May 11 deadline for the filing of Rhode Island tax returns and for the payment of balances due, including quarterly estimated payments that would otherwise be due April 15.
The agency said that the May 11 deadline also applies for nonresident Rhode Island returns filed from people in the seven Massachusetts counties declared federal disaster areas. More information is available on the agency’s Web site: www.tax.ri.gov.
•The Massachusetts Department of Revenue has declared May 11 the deadline for residents of the seven counties for filing Massachusetts resident returns and paying balances due.
The agency also said that May 11 is the deadline for filing and for paying balances due related to nonresident Massachusetts returns from Rhode Islanders. More information is on the agency’s Web site: www.mass.gov/dor.
•The IRS has a package of information available for claiming losses for tax purposes related to a disaster. Titled the “Disaster Losses Kit,” one version is available for individuals (IRS Publication 2194), another for businesses (IRS Publication 2194-B). The IRS is stocking the packages at Federal Emergency Management Agency sites throughout Rhode Island, Turenne said. Copies of the kit are also available at local IRS offices and online at www.irs.gov.
•If you cannot file your federal return even by the May 11 deadline, you have until May 11 to file for an additional extension, to mid-October, Turenne said. (That mid-October deadline is only for filing your return; you would still have to pay what you owe by May 11, she said.)
If you plan to take advantage of the mid-October deadline, and would like to electronically file the related form, Form 4868, “Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return,” it must be e-filed by April 15. Otherwise, you must file Form 4868 on paper.
ndowning@projo.com