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Greenville Business Magazine

The Business Narrative: More Helene Aftermath

Oct 02, 2024 10:58AM ● By Donna Walker

IRS Provides Relief for Helene; Various Deadlines Postponed to May 1, 2025

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The Internal Revenue Service announced disaster tax relief for all individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Helene, including the entire states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina and parts of Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. 

 

Taxpayers in these areas now have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

 

Among other things, this includes 2024 individual and business returns normally due during March and April 2025, 2023 individual and corporate returns with valid extensions and quarterly estimated tax payments.   

 

Filing and payment relief 

The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred beginning on Sept. 22, 2024, in Alabama; Sept. 23 in Florida; Sept. 24 in Georgia; Sept. 25 in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia; and Sept. 26 in Tennessee. 

 

In all of these states, the relief period ends on May 1, 2025 (postponement period).

 

As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until May 1, 2025, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period. 

 

This means, for example, that the May 1, 2025, deadline will now apply to: 

 

*Any individual or business that has a 2024 return normally due during March or April 2025.

* Any individual, business or tax-exempt organization that has a valid extension to file their 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 income 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, and Jan. 31 and April 30, 2025. 

 

In addition, the IRS is also providing penalty relief to businesses that make payroll and excise tax deposits. Relief periods vary by state.

 

The Disaster assistance and emergency relief for individuals and businesses page has details on other returns, payments and tax-related actions qualifying for relief during the postponement period. 

 

Among other things, this means that any of these areas that previously received relief following Tropical Storm Debby will now have those deadlines further postponed to May 1, 2025. 

 

Agency officials said the IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area. These taxpayers don't need to contact the agency to get this relief. 

 

It is possible an affected taxpayer may not have an IRS address of record located in the disaster area, for example, because they moved to the disaster area after filing their return. 

 

IRS officials said that in these unique circumstances, the affected taxpayer could receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS for the postponement period.

 

The taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated, the officials said.

 

In addition, agency officials said the IRS will work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but whose records necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period are located in the affected area.

 

Taxpayers qualifying for relief who live outside the disaster area need to contact the IRS at 866-562-5227. This also includes workers assisting the relief activities who are affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization. 

 

Disaster area tax preparers with clients located outside the disaster area can choose to use the Bulk Requests from Practitioners for Disaster Relief option, described on IRS.gov. 

 

Additional tax relief 

IRS officials said individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the return for the year the loss occurred (in this instance, the 2024 return normally filed next year), or the return for the prior year (the 2023 return filed this year). 

 

IRS officials said taxpayers have extra time – up to six months after the due date of the taxpayer’s federal income tax return for the disaster year (without regard to any extension of time to file) – to make the election.

 

For individual taxpayers, this means Oct. 15, 2025. Be sure to write the FEMA declaration number on any return claiming a loss. See Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts, for details. 

 

IRS officials said qualified disaster relief payments are generally excluded from gross income. 

 

The officials said that, in general, this means that affected taxpayers can exclude from their gross income amounts received from a government agency for reasonable and necessary personal, family, living or funeral expenses, as well as for the repair or rehabilitation of their home, or for the repair or replacement of its contents. 

 

See Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income, for details. 

 

Additional relief may be available to affected taxpayers who participate in a retirement plan or individual retirement arrangement (IRA). 

 

For example, a taxpayer may be eligible to take a special disaster distribution that wouldn't be subject to the additional 10 percent early distribution tax and allows the taxpayer to spread the income over three years. 

 

Taxpayers may also be eligible to make a hardship withdrawal. Each plan or IRA has specific rules and guidance for their participants to follow. 

 

The tax relief is part of a coordinated federal response to the damage caused by this storm and is based on local damage assessments by FEMA. 

 

For information on disaster recovery, go to disasterassistance.gov

Publix Super Markets Charities Donates $1M to Support Disaster Relief Following Hurricane Helene

Publix Super Markets Charities (PSMC) is donating $1 million to support relief efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

 

Additionally, Publix is activating a companywide donation campaign to allow customers and associates to help people affected by the storm. 

 

Donations may be made in any amount at checkout. The end date of the campaign will be based on customer response.

 

Officials said the contributions from PSMC and the register campaign will support nonprofit organizations, including the American Red Cross, United Way and the Florida Fund, enabling them to help people recover from this disaster.

 

Publix, the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. with more than 255,000 associates, operates 1,379 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. 

 

For 27 consecutive years, the company has been recognized by Fortune as a great place to work.

SCRA Announces New Member Companies, Grant Funding

JVPro, Qatalyst Health, and Storybutton were accepted as South Carolina Research Authority Member Companies. 

 

FSI Advanced Research, LifeTagger, Little Beeings, and SMPL-C received new grant funding.

 

All SCRA Member Companies receive coaching and access to SCRA’s member benefits and startup resources, can apply for grant funding, and have the potential to be considered for investment from SCRA’s investment affiliate, SC Launch Inc.

 

FSI Advanced Research Inc. received a $12,000 Demonstration Grant with an industry match from CeramTec in Laurens, SC, an advanced manufacturing and materials supplier of specialized ceramics. 

 

FSI Advanced Research provides expertise and training in machine vision and deep learning software, specializing in applying state of the art machine vision technologies to solve difficult industrial inspection and process control applications.

 

JVPro LLC has been accepted as an SCRA Member Company. The Medical University of South Carolina-based life science startup has developed a smartphone device attachment with accompanying software to provide a less-invasive, lower-cost way to monitor disease progression and reduce preventable hospital readmissions in heart failure patients.

 

LifeTagger Inc. received a $50,000 Demonstration Grant. The Ladson-based information technology startup provides an app that enables businesses to deliver the best content to new and existing customers using real-time marketplace indicators. 

 

Little Beeings LLC received a $25,000 Academic Startup Grant. The Charleston-based life science startup has developed a subscription-based social-emotional intelligence box for children. 

 

Its product, the Beeing You Box, is an interactive learning product that gives parents and caregivers resources to foster social-emotional development using emotional intelligence-focused games, activities, and toys tailored to stages of social-emotional development.

 

Qatalyst Health Corporation has been accepted as an SCRA Member Company. The Charleston-based information technology startup has developed proprietary software for skilled nursing facilities. 

 

Its software instantly integrates with a patient’s electronic medical records to automatically digitize and update relevant Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement forms.

 

SMPL-C Corporation received a $50,000 Acceleration Grant. The Mount Pleasant-based information technology startup offers an SaaS platform solution for defense contractors to understand and follow Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)-mandated regulations, ensuring consistent compliance to maintain and grow their valuable DoD contracts. 

 

The platform combines advanced GenAI technology with tailored large language models specifically for CMMC, speeding up the process by 40%.

 

Storybutton Inc. has been accepted as an SCRA Member Company. The Indian Land-based information technology startup has developed an audio platform and audio player for children. 

 

The platform allows children to listen to podcasts, bedtime stories, and more without using a mobile phone. Users can explore a curated library of educational kids’ podcasts, audiobooks, and stories with personalized content that makes it easy for them to choose their favorite stories and episodes.

 

Grant funding is made possible, in part, by SCRA’s tax credit program, the Industry Partnership Fund, and its contributions that fuel the state’s innovation economy.

 

Contributors to the IPF receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit.

Grant Thornton Names Jason Perry as Managing Principal for Southeast Region

Grant Thornton, one of America’s largest brands of professionals providing end-to-end audit, assurance, tax, and advisory services, named Jason Perry as the regional managing principal for the Southeast at Grant Thornton Advisors LLC.

 

In the role, Perry will oversee Grant Thornton’s offices in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

 

This includes its operations in Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbia, S.C.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Miami; Orlando, Fla.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Tampa, Fla.

 

As a regional managing partner, Perry will drive Grant Thornton’s strategy across the southeast and ensure his colleagues provide personalized, high-quality services to the firm’s clients.

 

Officials said his appointment dovetails with Grant Thornton’s accelerating growth and record-setting revenues.

 

Perry has worked at Grant Thornton for more than 20 years — the last four serving as the firm’s market managing principal in Atlanta.

 

In that role, he led 350 professionals as they delivered accounting, tax and consulting services across a range of industries. 

 

Before becoming market managing principal, Perry was Grant Thornton’s Audit & Assurance Practice Leader in Atlanta for almost nine years.

 

An auditor by training, he has years of experience serving companies in areas such as manufacturing, technology and life sciences.

 

Perry succeeds Mark Margulies as the regional managing principal for the Southeast.

 

In June, Margulies was promoted to national managing principal of U.S. Tax Services at Grant Thornton Advisors LLC. 

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