Warnock Enacts Bipartisan Legislation to Extend Tax Deadline for Natural Disaster Victims

The Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act will help disaster victims receive their tax refund by extending the deadline to claim a credit or refund if they’ve previously overpaid their taxes Senator Reverend Warnock introduced the legislation with Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) in April 2025 The legislation was signed into law on December 26, 2025 Senator Warnock : “Georgians impacted by natural disasters should not be racing the clock to get the money they’re owed from the federal government […] I’m continuing to advocate for Georgians impacted by Hurricane Helene and other natural disasters” Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) successfully passed the bipartisan Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act , legislation that will provide an extension to ensure taxpayers impacted by recent natural disasters have more flexibility when claiming refunds or credits. The legislation passed the U.S. Senate unanimously. Senator Warnock introduced the legislation with Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) earlier this year, and this legislation was signed into law by the President on December 26, 2025. “Georgians impacted by natural disasters should not be racing the clock to get the money they’re owed from the federal government,” said Senator Warnock. “I am glad we were able to get this bipartisan legislation across the finish line to become law, and I will continue to advocate for Georgians impacted by Hurricane Helene and other natural disasters.” Taxpayers usually have three years to file a claim for credit or refund of any overpayments of tax. However, when a filing deadline is postponed due to a federally declared disaster or similar reason, the three-year “lookback period” for paying refunds is not increased.  As a result, some taxpayers who take advantage of a postponed filing deadline will not be able to obtain a refund. Separately, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is required to demand payment within 60 days of an assessment, even if the payment deadline is postponed. Therefore, the IRS may send letters demanding payments that have been postponed. This creates unnecessary confusion and stress for disaster victims. To ensure that taxpayers impacted by disasters are treated like every other taxpayer when claiming their refunds, the Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act will: Extend the three-year period for receiving a refund or credit when the IRS extends a filing deadline due to a natural disaster, ensuring that a deadline extension does not give disaster impacted taxpayers a shorter lookback period for claiming a refund; Ensure that the automatic IRS payment deadline is extended to match any disaster-based filing deadline extension. Since Hurricane Helene made landfall last year, Senator Warnock has been deeply involved in the recovery process. To date, Senator Warnock has helped recover over a billion dollars in federal funds owed to the state, though it is estimated that the administration is still withholding roughly $311 million in related outstanding payments. In September 2025, Senator Warnock accepted the Congressional Management Foundation’s (CMF) 2025 Democracy Award for the best Constituent Correspondence & Outreach Services following the Senator’s efforts to communicate disaster response and recovery resources in the wake of Hurricane Helene.