CA help for those impacted by wildfires
California Taxpayer Relief Provisions 10/7/2020
Extended filing deadlines for California
The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) today announced special tax filing relief for Californians affected by recent wildfires. Because of the governor’s state of emergency declared on September 25 and September 28 and his recent executive order, taxpayers in governor-declared disaster areas are granted an extension to December 15, 2020, to file California tax returns on 2019 income and make any tax payments that would have been due between now and December 15.
With the addition of the California counties that received a disaster declaration in September, FTB now has extended the deadline for individuals and businesses to file and pay in the counties of Butte, Del Norte, Fresno, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Yolo. Any counties added later to the disaster area will be granted the same extension of time to file. This relief applies to various upcoming tax filing deadlines including the following:
- Individual filers whose previous tax-filing extension was set to end October 15. Because tax payments related to these returns were originally due on July 15, any payments associated with these filings are not eligible for relief.
- Business entities with a due date between now and December 15
Disaster Losses for CA returns
Taxpayers may claim their disaster loss in one of two ways. They may claim the disaster loss for the 2020 tax year when they file their return next spring, or they may claim the loss against 2019 income on this year’s return. An amended return may be filed by those who already have filed this year. The advantage of claiming the disaster loss in the prior tax year is that the FTB can issue a refund sooner.
Taxpayers claiming the disaster loss should write the name of the disaster (for example, Glass Fire) in blue or black ink at the top of their tax returns to alert FTB and to expedite any refund. If taxpayers are filing electronically, they should follow the software instructions to enter disaster information.
Replacement Copies of CA Tax Returns
Disaster victims also may receive free copies of their state returns to replace those lost or damaged. Taxpayers may complete form FTB 3516 and write the name of the disaster in blue or black ink at the top of the request.