Colorado has also provided emergency management and response support to states impacted by both hurricanes

DENVER - On October 18, 2024, Governor Jared Polis Colorado Department of Revenue announced today that taxpayers impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton now have until May 1, 2025, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

This decision mirrors the IRS decision to provide similar relief at the federal level.

“We want to ensure that Coloradans impacted by these terrible storms, who are part time Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and parts of Tennessee and Virginia residents or who have property or business there, have the support and relief they need during this challenging time. Tax deadlines should be the last thing that families impacted by these natural disasters are worried about. This relief will help allow families to prioritize their safety and recovery from these storms without being unnecessarily penalized for missing a deadline,” said Governor Polis.  

Individuals and households affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton that reside or have a business anywhere in the state of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and parts of Tennessee and Virginia qualify for tax relief. The decision permits the Colorado Department of Revenue to postpone certain tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area. Deadlines falling on or after September 23, 2022, and before February 15, 2023, are postponed through May 1, 2025 for impacted taxpayers.

Impacted individuals who had an automatic extension to file their 2023 return, due on October 15, 2024, will now have until May 1, 2025, to file. This extension does not relieve the taxpayer from penalties and interest, as tax payments related to the 2023 return were due on April 15, 2024.  

Colorado agrees to honor any waiver of interest granted by Florida for affected International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) motor carriers based in Florida if payments are received by the extension deadline.

Affected Colorado sales tax licensees who file and pay by the extension deadline of May 1, 2025, will still be considered as "timely filing" and eligible for any vendor fee (discount) that applies.

Department exemptions do not apply to home-rule jurisdictions who collect their own taxes. CDOR will not automatically apply this tax deadline waiver. Affected taxpayers who reside or have a business located in the covered disaster area must call the tax information hotline at 303-238-SERV (7378) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to request the extended deadline after they receive a bill.

Colorado has contributed to disaster preparation and response in many ways. Governor Polis directed the state of Colorado and the National Guard to send a Chinook Helicopter (1CH47) and its eight crew members to Florida to assist with Hurricane Milton preparation and relief. DHSEM continues to coordinate Colorado’s emergency response to hurricane Helene and Milton, under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). DHSEM’s Incident Management Team (IMT) coordinator coordinated national IMT response to Florida in Tallahassee, FL at the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) and a four member IMT in Columbia, SC supported the South Carolina State Emergency Operations Center. DHSEM’s Strategic Communications Director was in Raleigh supporting the North Carolina SEOC’s Joint Information Center. The IMT coordinator and DHSEM Communications Director have returned home. A Voluntary Agency Liaison is deployed to Chesterfield, VA. FEMA has also deployed Colorado Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Task Force One, which has approximately 200 highly trained members, that include firefighters, paramedics, physicians, structural engineers, hazardous materials technicians, heavy rigging specialists and canine handlers. These team members have completed their mission and are headed home. Additionally, two incident management teams completed deployments with a six member team at the Columbia County EOC in Lake City, FL and a five member team in Conover, NC.

DHSEM mobilized a nine-person Emergency Management Assistance Team to Tallahassee, FL to support evacuations as well as  Colorado National Guard aviation resources. That team later became two Emergency Management Assistance Teams, one in Sarasota County and one in Hillsborough County. Coloradans can view this map to see resources deployed through the Emergency Management Conference.

The Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Coordinator was deployed for 11 days as an EOC deputy manager for a Colorado Incident Management Team that responded to Columbia County, Florida. The team supported five shelters and seven distribution points for water, ice, food, and sanitation stations.