Governor Quinn Extends Tax Filing and Payment Deadlines for Businesses and Individuals Impacted by Tornadoes

CHICAGO – Governor Pat Quinn today announced that residents affected by the Nov. 17 tornadoes will now have until May 31, 2014 to file any tax returns due on or after Nov. 15. The announcement is part of Governor Quinn’s commitment to help rebuild every community impacted by the deadly storms.

“Communities across Illinois should focus on recovery—not deadlines—following the recent severe storms that have devastated so many people,” Governor Quinn said. “We want to give families and businesses as much time as they need to get back on their feet.”

The extended deadline will help individuals and local businesses, such as hardware stores, struggling to meet customer needs while cleaning up after the storms. They will now be able to focus on their customers and will have extra time to file and pay the sales taxes they collect. Individuals and businesses who normally file quarterly returns won’t have the pressure to file those returns or payments while trying to recover from the tornadoes. Distributors driving through damaged areas to get motor fuel to gas stations will have extra time to pay the taxes they owe to Illinois.

Taxpayers should file or pay as soon as possible. If filing paper forms by mail, they should write “Tornado – November 2013” in red on the outside of the envelope and on the top of the tax return. To quickly and easily claim disaster relief through MyTax Illinois, residents can log in to their MyTax Illinois account, navigate to the account for which they wish to claim disaster relief, and click “Claim Disaster Relief” under “Account Maintenance” in the left sidebar. From there they can complete and submit the online disaster relief claim request.

Electronic filers, those who do not mail tax documents and who do not use MyTax Illinois, should notify the department by email at REV.TornadoNov2013@illinois.gov. Affected taxpayers should include their name, account identification number, tax period that is affected, and a brief explanation of why they will be late, along with an estimate of when they believe they can file or pay. Additional information can be found by visiting Tax.Illinois.gov.

Last month President Obama approved the Governor’s request for federal assistance to help people and businesses in 15 Illinois counties recover from at least 24 tornadoes that were reported on Nov. 17. The request detailed the severe impact the storms had on communities across the state, including damage to at least 2,441 homes, almost 1,000 of which that are uninhabitable.

The approval came just one day after Governor Quinn submitted his request for Champaign, Douglas, Fayette, Grundy, Jasper, LaSalle, Massac, Pope, Tazewell, Vermilion, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, Will and Woodford counties.

Anyone affected by the Nov. 17 tornadoes and severe storms is encouraged to register for federal assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which administers the assistance program, has a toll-free telephone number 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) (for hearing and speech impaired) to apply for assistance. Registration also can be done online at disasterassistance.gov or by smartphone or tablet at m.fema.gov. The deadline to register for federal disaster aid is Jan. 27, 2014.