Abbott Asks Treasury to Delay Federal Tax Deadlines in 62 Storm-Hit Counties

Gov. Greg Abbott has asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to suspend federal tax filing and payment deadlines, and waive penalties and interest, for Texans in 62 counties hit by the storms and flooding that began July 14.

“Texans who took damage from the July storms and floods need this relief,” Abbott said Thursday. “I urge Secretary Bessent to suspend the tax deadlines and waive all late fees and penalties so families and businesses can rebuild.”

Two lists of counties

Abbott issued a state disaster proclamation for 62 counties on July 14. Washington approved a Major Disaster Declaration on September 1 for only 23 of them, among them Kerr, Kendall, Uvalde, Val Verde, Real and Gillespie.

The governor’s letter asks for relief in both groups. For the 23 counties in the federal declaration, he cites the Treasury secretary’s existing power to postpone deadlines after a federally declared disaster. For the other 39, including Bexar, Harris, Travis, Hays, Williamson, Fort Bend, Galveston and Comal, he relies on a newer provision of the same law that lets the secretary grant relief based on a state’s own disaster declaration. Congress added it in the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, which the letter cites as Public Law 119-29.

Why it matters

Until Treasury acts, Texans in all 62 counties face the regular federal deadlines, and in 39 of them the only disaster declaration is their own governor’s. Federal tax deadlines, and any delay in them, are set in Washington. A Texas family that lost a home in July has to wait for a federal agency to decide whether its tax bill can wait too.

As of Monday morning, the IRS list of 2026 disaster tax relief notices, which includes Florida, Nebraska and West Virginia, had no notice for the July storms in Texas.