Individuals and businesses in Tennessee affected by Winter Storm Fern now have until May 22, 2026, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.  

According to the IRS release, this filing extension applies to taxpayers who reside or have a business in the following counties:  

• Cheatham 
• Chester 
• Clay 
• Davidson 
• Decatur 
• Dickson 
• Hardeman 
• Hardin 
• Henderson 
• Hickman 
• Lawrence 
• Lewis 
• Macon 
• Maury 
• McNairy 
• Perry 
• Robertson 
• Rutherford 
• Summer 
• Trousdale 
• Wayne 
• Williamson 
• Wilson 

The declaration permits the IRS to postpone certain tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area. For instance, for certain deadlines falling on or after Jan. 22, 2026, and on or before May 22, 2026, taxpayers are granted additional time to file. 

As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until May 22, 2026, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period. 

The May 22, 2026, deadline applies to individual income tax returns and payments normally due on or after Jan. 22, 2026. Penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Jan. 22, 2026, and before Feb. 6, 2026, will be abated as long as the tax deposits were made by Feb. 6, 2026. 

This May 22, 2026, deadline also applies to affected quarterly payroll and certain excise tax returns normally due on Feb. 2, 2026, and April 30, 2026. 

If an affected taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original filing, payment or deposit due date that falls within the postponement period, they should call the telephone number on the notice to have the IRS abate the penalty or work with their tax advisor.  

Other Relief 

Additional relief offered by the IRS includes:  

• Casualty loss. Individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the return for the year the loss occurred or the return for the prior year. Taxpayers have up to six months after the due date of the taxpayer’s federal income tax return for the disaster year (without regard to any extension of time to file) to make the election. For individual taxpayers, this means Oct. 15, 2026.   
• Free copies of returns. The IRS will waive the usual fees for requests for copies of previously filed tax returns for affected taxpayers.  
• Gross income exclusion. Qualified disaster relief payments are generally excluded from gross income. This means affected taxpayers can exclude from their gross income amounts received from a government agency for reasonable and necessary personal, family, living or funeral expenses, as well as for the repair or rehabilitation of their home, or the repair or replacement of its contents. 
• 401(K) distributions or withdrawals. Affected taxpayers who participate in a retirement plan or individual retirement arrangement (IRA) may be eligible to take a special disaster distribution that would not be subject to the additional 10% early distribution tax. Taxpayers may also be eligible to make a hardship withdrawal. Each plan or IRA has specific rules and guidance for its participants to follow, so it’s important to work with your plan provider to ensure you minimize your tax liability. 

Here to Help  

As families and businesses in Tennessee continue to recover from Winter Storm Fern, Doeren Mayhew’s tax pros are here to help with your tax filing or relief needs.