It's that time of year again — Tax Day — where Tuesday, April 15, 2025, marks the deadline for people across the country to pay their taxes.
But here in Florida, you have a little bit more time.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) automatically postponed the deadline to May 1, 2025, for all Floridians in counties affected by hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton.
According to a release, this May deadline applies to:
- Any individual or business that has a 2024 return normally due during March or April 2025.
- Any individual, C corporation or tax-exempt organization that has a valid extension to file their calendar-year 2023 federal return. The IRS noted, however, that payments on these returns are not eligible for the extra time because they were due last spring before the hurricane occurred.
- 2024 quarterly estimated tax payments normally due on Jan. 15, 2025, and 2025 estimated tax payments normally due on April 15, 2025.
- Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Oct. 31, 2024, Jan. 31, 2025, and April 30, 2025.
Originally, after hurricanes Debby and Helene, it was only select counties in Florida granted an extension. However, then Hurricane Milton came along, affecting even more people across Florida. This then prompted the IRS to grant affected taxpayers in all of Florida to have the May 1 deadline.
"Combined with earlier tax relief provided for taxpayers in counties affected by Hurricane Debby and Hurricane Helene, affected taxpayers in all of Florida now have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, including 2024 individual and business returns normally due during March and April 2025 and 2023 individual and corporate returns with valid extensions and quarterly estimated tax payments," the IRS wrote in a 2024 release.
Here's a breakdown from the IRS of which counties were declared affected by each hurricane:
Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putman, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, and Volusia counties.
Alachua, Bay, Bradford, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Columbia, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Okaloosa, Pasco, Pinellas, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Wakulla, Walton and Washington counties.
Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Walton, Wakulla and Washington counties.
If, for some reason, you receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original filing, payment or deposit due date that falls within the postponement date, you should call the telephone number on the notice to have the IRS abate the penalty.
How to file taxes
There are multiple ways you can file your taxes, some of which are free.
How to file your taxes for free
- Free File: You can do this if your adjusted gross income is $84,000 or less. If higher, use free file fillable forms.
- Direct File: Prepare and file taxes online directly with the IRS.
- Free tax services for military and veterans.
- IRS-certified volunteers: You can use this if you earn $67,000 or less, have a disability, are 60 years or older or need language support.
Other ways to file your taxes
- Tax professional: Click here for an IRS-approved tax professional.
- Paper forms: You can file and mail them to the IRS.
- For wages, file Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
- For seniors, you can file 1040-SR.
- If you have a business or side income, file Form 1040 with a Schedule C.
- Click here to find the right form for you.
- Tax preparation software.
When will you get your tax refund?
If you paid more throughout the year than you owe in tax, you may get some money back once you file your return. You then have three years to claim a tax refund.
According to the IRS, you can get your refund through direct deposit, paper check, prepaid debit card, mobile payment apps or traditional, Roth or SEP-IRA.
It typically takes up to 21 days to get a refund for an e-filed return and four weeks or more for amended returns and returns sent by mail as well as even longer if your return needs corrections or extra review.
If you e-file your return, you can typically see your refund status after about 48 hours with "Where's My Refund?"
For more tax-related information, click here.
