The New Jersey Division of Taxation is following the federal guidelines for tax relief related to Hurricane Irene Disaster Relief Areas as noted in recent Internal Revenue Service announcements. As of Sunday, September 4, all 21 counties in New Jersey have been declared a federal disaster area. According to the IRS's September 1 press release, that means individuals and businesses residing in all NJ counties now qualify for tax relief (i.e. extension of September 15 deadline to October 31). New York State has also issued tax relief to hurricane victims in the NY counties mentioned above. Deadlines have been postponed for the period beginning on or after August 26, 2011, and ending before October 31, 2011, for filing any returns, including those for personal income tax, corporate taxes, sales tax, and any other taxes administered by the Tax Department and paying any tax (with certain exceptions) or installment of tax, including installment payments of estimated taxes; filing any requests for extensions or additional extensions of time to file. All deadlines for the above required acts occurring during the period on or after August 26, 2011, and before October 31, 2011 have been postponed to October 31, 2011. Interest at the appropriate underpayment rate must be paid on tax payments received after October 31, 2011. Exceptions Tax filing, payment, and other deadlines have been postponed to October 31, 2011, with the following exceptions: - For remittances of income tax withheld by employers required to be made using Form NYS-1, Return of Tax Withheld, during the period beginning on or after August 26, 2011, and before September 12, 2011, penalty relief will apply as long as the remittance is made by September 12, 2011 (remittances of income tax withheld required to be made using Form NYS-1 after September 12, 2011, must be made timely). - For remittances of withholding tax or MCTMT required to be made by employers through the PrompTax system during the period beginning on or after August 26, 2011, and before September 12, 2011, penalty relief will apply as long as the remittance is made by September 12, 2011 (remittances of withholding tax and MCTMT required to be made through the PrompTax system after September 12, 2011, must be made timely). - Remittances of sales tax, prepaid sales tax and excise tax on motor fuel and diesel motor fuel, and petroleum business tax required to be made through the PrompTax system, must be made timely. Paper filers should write Hurricane Irene on the top center of the front page of any late-filed return, extension, declaration of estimated tax, estimated tax payment voucher, or other document. Attach a brief explanation of the circumstances that adversely affected your ability to meet the tax deadline. Do not write this information on your envelope. | 
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