October 15 is not the deadline for everyone who filed a 2025 tax return on extension. The IRS announced on October 14 that extension filers in Guam and in Knox County, Nebraska now have until February 4, 2027 and January 7, 2027, and an earlier IRS announcement gives people in six Washington counties until February 1, 2027. The dates follow federal disaster declarations for a typhoon, a storm and wildfires.
The relief applies to people with a valid extension for their 2025 individual return, the extension that normally runs out on October 15. It does not move the date for paying any tax owed.
Three IRS releases, three new dates
In Guam, the IRS postponed deadlines after Super Typhoon Bavi, which began on July 4, 2026. The new date is February 4, 2027, under release GU-2026-01 and FEMA declaration 4946-DR. The IRS says individuals with a valid extension to file their 2025 return get until that day.
In Nebraska, the IRS named Knox County after a severe storm that began on September 9, 2026. Deadlines there move to January 7, 2027, under release NE-2026-08.
In Washington, wildfires that began on July 31, 2026 led to relief for six counties: Chelan, Ferry, Okanogan, Spokane, Stevens and Yakima. The Yakama Nation, the Colville Reservation and the Spokane Tribe of Indians are covered too. The new date is February 1, 2027. That release, WA-2026-03, came out on August 31, with FEMA declaration 3650-EM.
Anyone who lives or has a business in those areas, and who filed an extension, is the person these dates are written for. The IRS says it identifies affected taxpayers automatically from their address. People who live outside a covered area but whose records are inside it, such as an accountant’s files or a bank’s paperwork, should call IRS Special Services at 866-562-5227.
A late-filing or late-payment penalty notice can still arrive with a due date that sits inside the new window, and the IRS tells people who get one to call the number on it. The IRS Refund Recovery Kit includes a notice decoder and a refund status tracker spreadsheet, so each IRS letter and each refund on an extended return can be read and logged in one place.
Decode a penalty notice that cites October 15 with the Refund Recovery Kit notice decoder →
What the new dates leave alone
The IRS release for Guam spells out the limits, and the Nebraska and Washington releases carry the same exclusions. Payments for 2025 returns were due April 15, 2026, and they are not eligible for the relief. A person who owed tax on April 15 and extended only the paperwork still owes that tax, and interest keeps running. Information returns in the W-2, 1094, 1095, 1097, 1098 and 1099 series are not postponed. Neither are Forms 1042-S, 3921, 3922 and 8027.
Estimated tax payments originally due on or after the start of each disaster are postponed. In Guam, the IRS says no failure-to-pay penalty applies to them if they are paid by February 4, 2027. Quarterly payroll and certain excise returns that were due on July 31 and November 2, 2026 are also covered, along with February 1, 2027 returns in Guam.
If a penalty notice shows up anyway
The IRS says that anyone who receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice with a due date inside the postponement period should call the number on the notice to ask for abatement. Taxpayers who do not qualify for the postponement can still ask for penalty relief on the grounds of reasonable cause.
People on payment plans get a similar cushion. Reminder notices and direct debits continue, but missed payments during the postponement period will not put an agreement into default. Interest and late-payment penalties still accrue, and anyone who wants direct debits stopped has to contact the IRS or their bank.
Other help the disaster designation unlocks
Affected taxpayers may claim disaster losses on the return for the year of the disaster or the year before, and the election can be made up to six months after the due date of the disaster-year return, not counting extensions. The IRS says to write the FEMA declaration number on any return that claims the loss, and points to Publication 547 and Form 4684.
The IRS also waives its usual fee for copies of previously filed returns when the declaration number is written at the top of Form 4506 or 4506-T. For retirement savers, the Guam release notes a special disaster distribution on Form 8915-F and possible hardship withdrawals. It adds that plan rules vary.
The IRS lists free tax help for people who need to file: VITA sites at 800-906-9887 and AARP Tax-Aide at 888-227-7669. It says VITA sites normally cannot help claim disaster losses.
Checking IRS disaster relief by county
The free place to start is the IRS page on tax relief in disaster situations, last updated October 14. It lists every current announcement by state, and its “Get information for your state” link leads to the list of eligible localities. Washington has a second wildfire release on it, WA-2026-02 for Douglas County, also running to February 1, 2027. Nebraska has several earlier 2026 storm and wildfire releases with February 1, 2027 dates.
Before relying on a date, a filer can gather the county they lived or had a business in on the disaster start date, the FEMA declaration number, and proof that the extension was filed. Those three items show whether and where the relief applies.
The dates differ by place, which is the trap. February 4 belongs to Guam, February 1 to the Washington counties and tribes, and January 7 to Knox County. A filer in one place who copies a date from another can end up filing late.
Three early-2027 dates, one October 15 mix-up
A filer in a covered area who relies on the wrong date can end up with a penalty notice for a return that was on time, and a refund on an extended return can sit unlogged for months. The IRS Refund Recovery Kit includes a notice decoder that explains why a refund stalled and a refund status tracker spreadsheet that keeps each return, letter and refund in one record.
Track the extended return and its IRS letters in the Refund Recovery Kit spreadsheet →
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire’s editorial team.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
