FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Beth Boustead, Public Information Specialist, 701.328.3039
Thursday, January 26, 2012

Fong: Tax Department and IRS Offer Help to Minot Area Taxpayers Affected by Flooding in 2011

BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota Tax Commissioner Cory Fong announced today that the Tax Department and the IRS will co-host two taxpayer assistance sessions in Minot on February 9, 2012.

"The devastating flooding in 2011 affected many Minot area residents," said Fong. "Taxpayers impacted by flooding may have challenges filing their 2011 individual income tax returns due to the complications and complexities associated with accounting for and reporting property and casualty losses. The Tax Department and IRS want to do what we can to help taxpayers work through these issues."

The sessions will be held on Thursday, February 9 at 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM in the Theater Room of the North Dakota State Fair Center.

Staff from the IRS will lead the informational sessions. Trained tax counseling volunteers from AARP will also be on hand. The sessions will focus on the various issues facing individual income taxpayers as they file property and casualty loss returns. The sessions will end with a time for taxpayers to visit one-on-one with the IRS staff and AARP volunteers present.

"The informational sessions will offer an overview of the different issues individual income taxpayers may be facing," said Fong. "Even though we will not be providing tax preparation services at these sessions, taxpayers will have an opportunity to visit one-on-one with IRS staff and AARP volunteers."

Tax preparers and practitioners from the Minot area have been invited to attend these sessions along with area professionals with expertise in estimating property and casualty losses.

Individuals and businesses with questions or concerns about state filing deadlines, or need assistance with filing state tax returns, or have other tax-related questions are encouraged to visit the Office of State Tax Commissioner's web site at www.nd.gov/tax or call the Tax Department at 877.328.7088 or 701.328.7088.

Fong also mentioned that the IRS has available two helpful publications, Publication 547 – Casualty, Disaster, and Theft and Publication 584 – Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook which can be accessed on the IRS web site at www.irs.gov. The publications are designed to help homeowners and businesses affected by disasters such as flooding.

For more information about any federal relief or extensions, taxpayers should visit the IRS web site at www.irs.govor call the IRS at 800.829.1040 for individuals. For businesses with federal tax-related questions, they should call the IRS at 800.829.4933.

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