The scariest thing to do in October for many is facing the ghost of tax deadlines past and running into Oct. 15 if you had a six-month extension. That's unless you've been hit by a hurricane or other horrific weather disaster and now have a new deadline for 2023 returns.

On Friday, the Internal Revenue Service announced that taxpayers impacted by severe storms, hurricanes and tornadoes in all of Florida now have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make some payments. That would include 2024 individual and business returns normally due during March and April 2025, as well as 2023 individual and corporate returns with valid extensions and quarterly estimated tax payments.

May 1 is the deadline for those in Florida impacted by the disasters, including Hurricane Milton, for filing 2024 returns and paying any tax due.

The IRS announcement gave detailed specifics online to reflect the emergency tax relief available, which would cover those who had requested extensions for their 2023 tax returns, which normally would have been due Oct. 15.

Typically, disaster-related extensions are automatic, and you're also getting an extension to pay, as well as file, in these unique situations. The IRS also has procedures to ensure filing and payment relief for other taxpayers who have their records in the disaster area, those who have recently moved into the area, or those with tax clients situated outside the affected zones.

A string of severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, wildfires, mudslides and other weather-related disasters this year has meant that the IRS is giving extra time to many people in a long list of communities. Deadlines will vary depending on the disaster and the locality. Make sure to understand the extended deadline that applies to your area, as some deadlines can even vary within a given state.

Where else do taxpayers have more time to file

Taxpayers in some areas now have until Nov. 1 to file their 2023 tax return; this includes parts of Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia.

Elsewhere, taxpayers have until Feb. 3, 2025, to file their 2023 federal income tax return, including all or parts of Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky,Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virgin Islands and Washington.

The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies filing and payment relief.

The IRS noted that such tax relief could apply to those with an IRS address of record in areas covered by Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster declarations and those returning from a combat zone.

Other deadlines that might apply:

• A May 1, 2025, deadline to file 2023 tax returns exists for taxpayers affected by Hurricane Helene in all or parts of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
• Taxpayers affected by the terrorist attacks in Israel have until Sept. 30, 2025, to file their 2023 returns and pay any tax due.
• Members of the military and others serving in a combat zone typically have 180 days after they leave the combat zone to file returns and pay any taxes due.

Tax relief can offer much more than extra time

Those hit by major disasters can receive significant relief, not just an extension of a deadline, such as being able to claim disaster-related casualty losses for either the year the disaster took place or the prior year for uninsured or unreimbursed losses.

"You have to be impacted, not just live in a zone, to take advantage of some of those provisions," said Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.

"There are some very, very nice tax provisions that can help jump-start you back to normal," he said. "Get your life in order first, your family, your home and so forth. But as soon as you come up, you really do need to look at some of the tax provisions. They can be a really nice financial injection."

Steber was hunkering down in his home in Sarasota, Florida, on Tuesday morning, in the path of Hurricane Milton. His home has a generator, he said, and he has made other emergency preparations. He had plans to grill a pork shoulder.

If someone is in the path of a major storm days before Oct. 15, Steber said, they need to "prioritize life" and prepare for the storm, and not necessarily dwell on the tax deadline for those who filed for an extension back in April. While taxes are important, he said, it's essential to stay out of harm's way.

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The firm Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting noted Tuesday that several crucial tax relief options may be available to individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, including penalty-free access to retirement funds.

The company noted that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has indicated that about 150 federal disaster declarations have taken place so far this year, including seven for the states affected by Hurricane Helene alone. About 44 states have been affected by federal disaster declarations in 2024, as well as two territories and half a dozen Native American tribes or bands.

Some last-minute tips

Procrastinators and those scared silly by taxes will want to keep a few points in mind as the Oct. 15 deadline nears:

• Make sure to file that return by Oct. 15 if you're not covered by emergency-related tax relief.
• Double check your math and your paperwork. "Do not rush or panic just to get your taxes done," Steber said.
• Be accurate. Take your time to make sure you use the correct Social Security numbers and other figures.
• Avoid the mail.
• Know you're not alone: The IRS projected earlier this year that about 19 million taxpayers would file extensions.

Henry Grzes, lead manager for tax practice and ethics for the American Institute of CPAs, said taxpayers who are running into the Oct. 15 deadline want to take their time and review prior year returns to see whether you had a deduction in a prior year but have forgotten about it for this year.

If you filed an extension and you don’t file your return by Oct. 15, your penalty and interest calculations are grandfathered back to the original April 15 due date for 2024 tax returns.

Filing online for an extension or mailing in Form 4868 technically only gave you more time to file a return. You still needed to pay a sizable amount of the tax owed by the original filing deadline, which was April 15 for much of the country, to avoid interest and late-payment penalties.

Waiting even longer now by not filing by Oct. 15, Steber said, only makes the situation worse.

Taxpayers who fail to meet the Oct. 15 deadline, Steber said, can run into "the triple-whammy risk. The first being you face potential penalties. Failure to file your taxes. Failure to pay your taxes. Sometimes, there's an underpayment penalty leveled on top of that. The second part, which is equally bad, is the interest on the underpayment of taxes and now penalties, compounding daily.

"The third thing that people often fail to understand," Steber continued, "is once you get into this vortex of tax, late filing penalties, payment penalties and interest, you're typically beyond your means to fix it yourself. You have to pay someone to come in to help understand all the penalties. Can some of them be abated if you have reasonable cause?"

Right now, many tax professionals are available to work on tax returns to file by the Oct. 15 deadline. If you don’t already have a relationship in place, you may be able to find someone who can help you, Grzes said. Maybe someone who is a client of the CPA, he said, could introduce you to someone at the firm.

Big tax prep companies also have offices open now to handle the Oct. 15 deadline, but don't wait until the last day.

The "Free File" program continues to be offered online through Oct. 15 for millions of people across the country. Free File is found at IRS.gov. Free File, which provides free tax software through various commercial partners, is an option for those with up to $79,000 in adjusted gross income currently.

MilTax remains available as a free online service for members of the military and qualifying veterans to file their federal income tax returns and up to three state income tax returns.

Look at last year's return for items that are typically included on your return, such as interest from a bank account. Any missing information or mismatched information on IRS systems could trigger trouble, including delaying a refund.

The IRS notes taxpayers can access their Individual Online Account information, including any amount owed, payments, tax records and more. There are no fees to download and print your transcripts. New users will need their photo identification to verify their identity.

If you need to pay, the IRS has a variety of options, including a way to pay online directly from a checking or savings account for free and schedule payments up to 365 days in advance.

Yes, you can pay your federal income taxes using a credit card, debit card or a digital wallet, such as PayPal. But this service isn't free. The payment processor charges a fee and fees can vary. The IRS lists a chart of the various fees online.

'No reason' to get a paper tax refund check

Are you getting money back? Hard to imagine some would file for an extension if they're owed money. But some people do just that when they're running out of time or don't have the right paperwork in hand.

The average tax refund was $2,869 — up 2% from last year — based on IRS data through May 10. Overall, the IRS issued 93.94 million refunds, down 1% from the year earlier period.

Most people requested direct deposit of their federal income tax refunds, but IRS data indicates that more than 7.27 million refunds would have been issued by check.

If you are owed a tax refund, the best bet is direct deposit. But again, you want to double check your account information to make sure you're directing the IRS to send the money to the correct account.

Remember, criminals target the mail. "There's no reason to get a paper check," Steber said.

"Criminals typically steal personal checks, business checks, tax refund checks, and checks related to government assistance programs, such as Social Security payments and unemployment benefits," according to a February alert by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Once the checks are deposited by crime rings, the alert said the bad actors often "rapidly withdraw the funds through ATMs or wire them to other accounts that they control."

After the initial theft, the alert noted, criminals may continue to exploit victims by using the personal identifiable information found in the stolen mail for future fraud schemes, such as credit card fraud or credit account fraud.

"Unfortunately, with paper checks, things such as theft is all too common," said Matt Hetherwick, chief program officer for the nonprofit Accounting Aid Society in Detroit.

Even when there isn't a theft, the tax filer will end up waiting longer to receive a refund by check than by direct deposit. Some may also incur fees to cash the check, if they don't have a bank account.

Accounting Aid Society encourages tax filers to receive direct deposit, Hetherwick said. If they don't have a bank account, the nonprofit offers a reloadable debit card so the tax filer can have the refund directly deposited to that card. Or tax filers are encouraged to visit a local bank to open an account.

You also should avoid mailing a check to the IRS to pay taxes that you owe. You want to avoid the risk of seeing that mail stolen. Crooks can alter the checks and change the amount you wrote on the check to make sure they're able steal more money. They also can use stolen checks to create counterfeit checks.

See “Where’s My Refund?” at IRS.gov or the IRS2Go mobile app for updates on your refund. If you spot that the IRS has issued your refund, but you haven’t received it, your refund may have been lost, stolen, or misplaced.

Then, you'd want to ask the IRS to do a refund trace to track a lost, stolen, or misplaced refund check or to verify a financial institution received a direct deposit.

To do a trace, you can call the IRS Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954 and use the automated system or speak with an IRS employee. Or you could go to "Where’s My Refund?” at IRS.gov or use the IRS2Go mobile app and follow the prompts to begin a refund trace.

Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: [email protected]. Follow her on X (Twitter) @tompor.

This story has been updated to include new information.