Individuals and households affected by severe winter storms that live or have a business in all 254 Texas counties qualify for tax relief, the IRS said Monday.
Texans affected by the winter storms that began on Feb. 11 now have until June 15 to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the IRS announced Monday.
Individuals and households affected by the severe winter storms that reside or have a business in all 254 Texas counties qualify for tax relief following the recent disaster declaration issued by FEMA. The declaration allows the IRS to postpone certain tax filing and payment deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area.
Certain deadlines falling on or after Feb. 11 and before June 15 are postponed through June 15. That includes various 2020 business tax returns due on March 15 and 2020 individual and business returns due on April 15. Taxpayers in the affected area also have until June 15 to make 2020 IRA contributions, the IRS said.
The IRS said the June 15 deadline applies to the first quarter estimated tax payment due on April 15, as well as to the quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on April 30. Additionally, it applies to tax-exempt organizations, operating on a calendar-year basis, that has a 2020 return due on May 17.
Penalties on deposits due on or after Feb. 11 and before Feb. 26 will also be abated as long as the tax deposits were made by Feb. 26, the IRS said.
If you are an affected taxpayer and you receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original or extended due date that falls within the postponement period, call the phone number on the notice to have the IRS abate the penalty.
The IRS said it automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies for filing and payment relief. But if you’re an affected taxpayer who resides or has a business located outside the disaster area, you should call the IRS disaster hotline at 866-562-5227 to request this tax relief.
The Insurance Council of Texas expects hundreds of thousands of claims for broken pipes and water damage as a result of the Texas winter storm.
The impact of Texas’ winter storm is continuing to come to light as the sun comes out and the weather warms up.
The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) predicts busted pipes and water damage at homes and businesses across the state could result in hundreds of thousands of insurance claims.
“ICT is gathering information to more accurately project the industry losses and claims costs in the state,” the organization stated on Monday, Feb. 22.
This could even be the costliest storm Texas has experienced, the ICT added.
Last year across Texas, residents filed 75 reports of busted pipesdue to the cold weather with State Farm. In 2021 to date, nearly 29,000 claims have been made as a result of last week’s storm — the vast majority of those water-related.
“As the thawing happened and water was able to escape pipes, more homeowners may have experienced damage,” said Chris Pilicic, a State Farm spokesperson.
Anyone impacted by the storm should file a claim with their insurance company.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is also stepping in to provide financial assistance to areas declared a major disaster. That includes more than 100 Texas counties so far. Here’s what you need to know before you apply for FEMA money.
Disaster assistance can be used to help pay for temporary housing and home repairs, but individuals have to file with their own insurance prior to reaching out to FEMA.
Under the Stafford Act, FEMA can issue up to $34,900 to individuals seeking assistance.
Other than direct money, disaster assistance can also lead to low-interest loans for things not insured.
As last week’s historic winter storm was rolling across Texas, officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, ERCOT, was asking the federal government to temporarily suspend environmental limits for several power producers.
The request, signed by ERCOT CEO Bill Magness, asked for the U.S. Department of Energy to issue an emergency order and declare an “electric reliability emergency exists within the state of Texas that requires intervention by the Secretary.”
The request was sent on Feb. 14 and asks the Acting Secretary of Energy, David Huizenga, to allow certain power plants to operate at maximum levels and be allowed to exceed federal limits on emissions and wastewater release until Feb. 19.
COVID-19 vaccinations and testing can resume now that the winter storms that hit Texas last week have passed. People who had vaccine and testing appointments that were canceled due to the winter storms will be rescheduled, Harris County Public Health said.
Those with appointments for their first or second vaccine doses, or waiting for their second vaccine appointment, will be contacted soon. HCPH said it needs additional vaccines to vaccinate everyone waiting for their second doses. People who had their first vaccination were given cards with the type of vaccine they received and the date their next dose is due. This is not an appointment, HCPH said. Appointments are sent as text messages with the date, time, location, and a QR code.
HCPH said a delay of a few weeks between the first and second doses does not reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine. Eligible groups being vaccinated at this time Groups 1A and 1B that include health care workers, people over 65, and those with underlying health conditions. If you are in an eligible group, register for the HCPH waitlist through https://vacstrac.hctx.net/landing.
As of now, vaccine supplies are limited. In the meantime, if you are waiting to be vaccinated, you can still get tested. Testing is free and you get the results in three to five days. Children can also be tested at the sites listed below. Sign up athcphtx.orgorcall 832-927-7575.
“Testing is still critically important to help stop the spread of COVID-19,” HCPH said in a news release.
From the day the pandemic spread to the Greater Houston region, Houston Methodist has studied positive COVID-19 test results looking for mutations. For the first time, those virus variants are “spreading rapidly.”
The director of the hospital lab where nearly half a million COVID-19 tests have been processed so far, and where every positive result is “sequenced” for signs of mutation, says dozens of cases of variants have been identified in recent days.
“The South African variant, the UK variant, Brazilian and Californian,” Dr. Randy Olsen said. “They are spreading rapidly.”
Houston Methodist is one of the only entities that look for the variants, what Dr. Olsen calls “a very complicated, intense computational process” that requires a lot of time and staff.
“We’ve done more than 20,000 sequences, which by far is more than any other state in the United States,” Dr. Olsen said.
To say that the hospital — which conducts about five percent of the region’s COVID-19 tests — has identified dozens of cases of the variant means that in reality, there are likely hundreds or even thousands of mutation cases in our area.
“We expect viruses to mutate, it’s what they do,” Dr. Olsen said. “We started our plan back in January 2020 anticipating the virus [and mutations] would make [their] way to Houston.”
All other virus indicators, thankfully, are falling, Texas Medical Center data shows. The weekly average of new daily cases is down for the third consecutive week, at the lowest level since early November.
Daily COVID-19 hospitalizations are down for the sixth consecutive week, also the lowest since November. The reproduction rate remains below one for the 20th consecutive day.
The Houston Methodist lab processes 3-5,000 COVID-19 tests per day from all eight Methodist hospitals, plus any affiliated emergency centers and clinics.
Governor Greg Abbott provided an update Sunday in San Antonio on the state’s efforts to provide water and other resources to communities across Texas.
Abbott said power is at full capacity, leaving only about 30,000 Texans without power compared to millions early in the week. He said the reason that residents are still left without power is due to local power providers needing hookups or downed power lines.
“I suspect all power will be restored to every house tonight or tomorrow,” the governor said.
He said officials are working with cities as localities get water up and running and restored to communities across the state. Abbott said officials understand the challenges many are facing with no power or water.
He said the state has delivered nearly 10 million bottles of water and more than 5 million ready-to-eat meals, with the help of the Texas National Guard and other partners. Several aircraft and delivery trucks were used to help deliver those supplies.
Abbott said officials are working with Texas cities for distribution.
He also addressed the busted pipe issue many are facing across the state. Abbott said the state is going what it can and bringing more plumbers as they are in high demand.
“We urge to call plumbers as quickly as possible, call insurance as quickly as possible,” he said. “They should be working with you to make sure those pipes get fixed. If you don’t have insurance, you may get FEMA to reimburse.”
The governor said he has requested a USDA disaster declaration for Ag producers to help with the food shortages of grocery stores.
Abbott said some energy companies are receiving a skyrocket in electric and power bills, which he says Texans without power should not have high bills.
He said he held a meeting Saturday with legislative leaders to shield families from unreasonable bills
“During that meeting it was productive, we need to work together to deliver solutions,” Abbott said.
Texas rolled into full-blown recovery mode Sunday after a winter storm that at its powerful peak left more than 4 million in the dark and almost half the state’s 29 million people under boil-water advisories.
More than 70 deaths have been linked to the intense cold and damaging storms that swept through a wide swath of the nation last week, what AccuWeather described as “one of the stormiest weather patterns in decades.” About half the reported fatalities occurred in Texas, but there were deaths reported in several other states, from Oregon to Tennessee.
A warming trend brought welcome relief. In Tennessee, where Memphis was walloped with 10 inches of snow, temperatures soared into the high 50s on Sunday. In battered Texas, Houston’s temperature climbed into the 70s, and Austin was almost there.
Texas, where many power plants and water facilities were ill-equipped to handle the wintry onslaught, took the brunt of the damage. And state leaders took the brunt of the blame for failing to ensure that the power system could handle the strain. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said her home was without power for three nights.
“It’s worth asking the question: Who set up this system and who perpetuated it knowing that the right regulation was not in place?” said Hidalgo, a Democrat. “Those questions are going to have to be asked, and I hope that changes will come. The community deserves answers.”
About 20,000 Texas homes and businesses remained without power Sunday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us, a utility tracking website. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner called the power crash “foreseeable and preventable.”
Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, had harsh words for grid operators and managers of iced-locked wind turbines but has been less critical of oil and gas industry corporations that dominate Texas industry and support his political campaigns.
Power plants struggled to operate in the extreme cold, and some natural gas wellheads froze. The governor called on Texas lawmakers to require that power plants be winterized. Saturday, he promised to “work collaboratively” with lawmakers from both parties to get a handle on energy prices.
“We have a responsibility to protect Texans from spikes in their energy bills that are a result of the severe winter weather and power outages,” Abbott said.
Water systems also struggled. Almost 1,500 public water systems in Texas reported disrupted operations, said Toby Baker, executive director of the state Commission on Environmental Quality.
In Austin, temperatures remained below freezing for almost a week. Austin Water said Sunday that storage in reservoirs had climbed to 72 million gallons, but at least 100 million gallons were needed to help build water pressure systemwide.
“We urge customers with water service to limit water use to essential needs and follow mandatory water restrictions,” Austin Water tweeted. “Violations of these restrictions should be reported to Austin 3-1-1.”
In San Antonio, authorities said Sunday that water had been restored to 98% of the city.
A thin silver lining for residents of Austin and San Antonio: Lick Honest Ice Creams planned an ice cream giveaway Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. at its Austin and San Antonio shops.
“It’s been a week for the history books, y’all, and we hope we can make yours a little bit better,” the company posted on Facebook. “We’ve missed scooping for you and can’t wait to see you again!”
Help was coming from all over. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., volunteered at the Houston Food Bank on Saturday and announced her fundraising effort for the storm recovery effort in the state had surpassed $5 million on Sunday.
“That’s the New York spirit, that’s the Texas spirit, that’s the American spirit,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
More than 27,000 homes and businesses in West Virginia and another 25,000 in Kentucky were without power Sunday. That number was about 20,000 in Mississippi, where a high temperature in Jackson of 61 degrees was forecast Sunday.
“Crews continue to work around the clock,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves tweeted. “Weather continues to improve with high temps well above freezing in most places.”
As power is restored across the state, Entergy Mississippi president and CEO Haley Fisackerly cautioned customers to slowly phase in use to avoid overloading the system. He suggested turning off major appliances before the power is turned back on.
“I know when those lights come back on, you’re going to be ready to clean up that house and wash those dishes in your dishwasher or wash your clothes,” he said. “Do that in stages, (or it) could create problems back on the grid.”
Thousands of Houstonians showed up at the City of Houston’s water distribution site on the northeast side Saturday.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said they’re moving water throughout the city as fast as possible. He said demand for drinking water remains high. Mayor Turner said they handed out more than 1 million units of water on Friday.
There’s no denying the need for water in the city. While water has been stored in people’s homes, the city remains under a boil notice.
“Until we come out of it, there’s going to be a tremendous need to provide people with drinking water,” Mayor Turner said.
He said the city’s water system is back up and running.
“So you should be seeing a noticeable improvement in your water pressure,” Mayor Turner said.
However, he’s asking residents to do their part to conserve. He wants people to hold off on nonessential water use like getting their cars washed.
“I’m going to ask even car washing companies, businesses if they will hold for this weekend. Let us get past this crisis, this challenge, and then you can proceed,” Mayor Turner said.
Houston Public Works Director Carol Haddock said they’ve sent water samples to TCEQ to get tested.
“When we get those results tomorrow, we’ll be able to determine whether or not we have any bacteria growth in the system, and we’ll be able to lift that boil water notice as soon as we get the all-clear,” Haddock said.
The city hopes that will happen by Monday. For now, residents will have to depend on distribution events for water.
Mayor Turner plans to establish a relief fund to help people who need it. Those details will be released Monday.
Last week’s winter storm crippled the state’s ability to keep up with COVID-19 vaccinations. Vaccine shipments were delayed and without power or water vaccine hubs across Houston had no choice but to shut down.
Now, officials are racing to catch up.
Experts estimate Texas fell behind by about 1 million vaccinations because of the storm. But a new FEMA site scheduled to open in Houston later this week should help make up for the lost time.
“Every week lost is a tragedy,” Dr. Peter Hotez said. “We have no choice but we have to catch up this coming week.”
With Texas and most of the nation thawing out, shipments are resuming.
“We’ve been able to get 2 million of those 6 million doses out. We expect to rapidly catch up this week … fill that backlog,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
Texas is set to receive more than 1.5 million doses by mid-week. More than 40,000 are heading to FEMA’s new community vaccination site at NRG Park.
“That will be 6,000 vaccines per day for six to eight weeks,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said.
It’s expected to help Houston make up lost ground faster.
“You might say, ‘We lost a week. What’s the big deal?’ But my worry is the stakes are high because of new variants now permeating the U.S,” Hotez said.
Hotez said speed matters. The faster we vaccinate, the quicker we can slow community spread. Because of the storm, Texas is now nearly last in the country with only 11% of our population having received the first dose of the vaccine.
“We’ve got to really step up our game in order to catch up so we’re at least back in the middle of the country by next week,” Hotez said.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Turner plan to announce new details of the FEMA site and how it will work at a 4 p.m. news conference on Monday.
At the halfway point in the World Health Organization and Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ 100-day challenge, a movement of people and organizations is now uniting together under the banner of vaccine equity. WHO welcomes the new commitments made by France, Germany, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America to COVAX and equitable allocation of vaccines. Backed by 190 countries and economies, COVAX is the global mechanism best positioned to deliver vaccines to the world and end the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There is a growing movement behind vaccine equity and I welcome that world leaders are stepping up to the challenge by making new commitments to effectively end this pandemic by sharing doses and increasing funds to COVAX,” said Dr. Tedros, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “This can’t be business as usual and there is an urgent need for countries to share doses and technology, scale-up manufacturing, and ensure that there is a sustainable supply of vaccines so that everyone, everywhere can receive a vaccine.”
Close to 7000 people and hundreds of organizations have already signed on to a vaccine equity declaration that directly calls on governments and manufacturers to speed up regulatory processes, boost manufacturing by sharing know-how and technology, and ensure that doses are shared equitably. There is a specific call to start with all health and care workers, who have been on the frontlines of this pandemic for more than a year.
Heads of state and sports stars like Romain Grosjean; international agencies including UNICEF, UN Development Programme, UN Women and the World Food Programme; sporting organizations like the International Olympic Committee, World Rugby and FIFA; networks focused on faith, gender, and youth, and civil society groups like the Elders, Global Health Council, Nursing Now, Pandemic Action Network, UHC2030 and Women in Global Health,*– these and many more have signed on to the broad based movement, which recognizes the moral, economic and global security imperative of equitable vaccine distribution.
Dr. Keith C Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, and Chairman of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) said, “Today, thankfully we are at that place where we now have tested and proven vaccines. A brightening light is shining on our way towards a more successful response to the still marauding virus.”
The movement for vaccine equity is growing, and to prevent virus variants from undermining our health technologies and hampering an already sluggish global economic recovery, it is critical that leaders continue to step up to ensure that we end this pandemic as quickly as possible. Individuals and organizations everywhere are encouraged to join in this crucial effort.
