Residents and businesses across Greater Houston are among millions of Texans who could qualify for additional time to file federal tax returns and make certain tax payments.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that the Internal Revenue Service has approved disaster-related tax relief for 62 Texas counties following severe storms and flooding that began July 14.
The relief postpones certain federal tax filing and payment deadlines until Feb. 1, 2027, including deadlines that would otherwise fall between July 14, 2026, and Jan. 31, 2027.
Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston, Brazoria and several other Southeast Texas counties are included.
According to the IRS, residents and businesses in the following Greater Houston and surrounding Southeast Texas counties are eligible:
The extension applies to qualifying individuals who live in the designated counties and businesses whose principal place of business is located there.
You do not have to prove that your home or business suffered storm damage to receive the automatic extension if you are located in an eligible county.
The IRS says it automatically identifies taxpayers with addresses in the covered disaster area and applies the relief.
The new deadline of Feb. 1, 2027, applies to several federal tax obligations, including:
There is an important exception for people who received an extension to file their 2025 individual income tax returns.
Although the filing deadline has been postponed, tax payments originally due April 15, 2026, are not included, because that deadline occurred before the July storms.
The extension also does not automatically apply to every federal tax form or deposit. Taxpayers should review the IRS announcement for the specific obligations covered.
No. For most eligible residents and businesses, the relief is automatic.
The IRS uses taxpayer addresses to identify those in the designated disaster counties.
However, people who live outside the designated counties may still qualify if the records needed to meet a federal tax deadline are located within the disaster area.
Eligible taxpayers in that situation should contact the IRS Special Services hotline at 866-562-5227 to request relief.
The IRS also says recognized disaster relief workers and certain other people affected by the disaster may qualify.
The IRS says taxpayers who receive a penalty notice involving a deadline covered by the disaster extension should call the telephone number listed on the notice.
The agency can review the account and remove applicable late-filing or late-payment penalties.
Taxpayers with existing IRS installment agreements also receive limited relief.
According to the IRS, missed installment payments during the postponement period will not cause an agreement to default. However, interest and late-payment penalties can continue to accumulate, and automatic bank withdrawals will continue unless the taxpayer takes steps to suspend them.
In addition to the Greater Houston and surrounding counties listed above, the IRS identified these counties as eligible for disaster-related tax relief:
Atascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Brewster, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Crockett, DeWitt, Dimmit, Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Goliad, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hays, Jackson, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, La Salle, Lavaca, Lee, Live Oak, Llano, Mason, Maverick, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Mitchell, Pecos, Real, Schleicher, Sutton, Terrell, Travis, Uvalde, Val Verde, Victoria, Webb, Williamson, Wilson, Zapata and Zavala.
The relief follows a state disaster declaration issued in response to severe storms and flooding across Texas in July.
The IRS says additional disaster-related tax relief may become available.
Residents and business owners can review the complete list of qualifying tax deadlines, eligibility requirements and other available assistance through the agency’s official announcement.
