California Extends Due Date For California State Tax Returns

Earlier today, the IRS announced that various tax filing and payment deadlines for most taxpayers in California were being further postponed to Nov. 16, 2023.

State Tax Relief

Now, the California Franchise Tax Board confirmed that most Californians have until November 16, 2023, to file and pay their tax year 2022 state taxes to avoid penalties. As with the federal deadline, those who would have had an Oct. 16, 2023, postponed tax filing deadline now have until Nov. 16, 2023, to file and pay.

The California FTB website noted that it generally follows the IRS extended deadlines to file and pay taxes. The FTB confirmed this to be true in a press release issued Monday evening, writing, “FTB generally conforms to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) postponement periods for presidentially declared disasters.”

Disaster Deduction

The FTB also noted that taxpayers who are affected by a presidentially declared disaster may claim a deduction for a disaster loss. For more information, see FTB Publication 1034, 2022 Disaster Loss: How to Claim a State Tax Deduction.

As with federal losses, taxpayers may claim the disaster loss for the 2023 tax year when they file their return in 2024, or they may claim the loss against 2022 income on this year’s return in 2023. An amended return may be filed by those who already have filed this year. The advantage of claiming the disaster loss on a tax year 2022 return is that FTB can issue a refund sooner.

Taxpayers should write the name of the disaster (for example, California winter storms) in blue or black ink at the top of their tax return to alert FTB. If taxpayers are filing electronically, they should follow the software instructions to enter disaster information.

Similar to the IRS’ instructions, if an affected state taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice related to the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.

California 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.