Abbott Asks Treasury for Tax Deadline Relief in 62 Storm-Hit Counties
The governor wants federal filing and payment deadlines suspended and late fees waived for Texans hit by the July storms and floods, not just in the 23 counties with a federal disaster declaration.
Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to give federal disaster tax relief to Texans and businesses hit by the severe storms and flooding that began July 14, according to the governor's office.
The letter asks Treasury to temporarily suspend federal tax filing and payment deadlines and to waive late fees for taxpayers in all 62 counties covered by the governor's state disaster proclamation.
"Texans who took damage from the July storms and floods need this relief," Abbott said. "I urge Secretary Bessent to suspend the tax deadlines and waive all late fees and penalties so families and businesses can rebuild."
Wider than the federal declaration
The request reaches further than the federal disaster declaration. President Donald Trump approved a Major Disaster Declaration on Sept. 1, the governor's office said, and FEMA said it initially covered Public Assistance, the program that helps governments and certain nonprofits pay for emergency work and repairs, in 19 counties: Bandera, Crockett, Dimmit, Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, La Salle, Mason, Maverick, Menard, Real, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde and Zavala, according to FEMA.
Later, Grimes, Live Oak, McMullen and Schleicher counties were added, bringing the total to 23, the governor's office said. The governor's letter asks Treasury to cover all 62 counties in the state proclamation, not only those 23.
What it would mean
If Treasury agrees, people and businesses in the covered counties would get more time to file and pay federal taxes, and late fees would be waived. The decision belongs to Treasury and the IRS. Until relief is announced, existing deadlines stand. Taxpayers who are unsure should talk to a tax professional rather than assume extra time.
Recovery takes years
Floods leave more behind than mud. Families spend months on insurance claims, contractors and paperwork while trying to keep a business or job going. A filing deadline should not be one more thing on top of that.
Texas has also been building up flood defenses; read our explainer on the Flood Infrastructure Fund grants. And as this week's West Texas flooding showed, the next storm is never far off. Remember your neighbors in the Hill Country and South Texas who are still rebuilding.
Hero photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
