Taxpayers affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, or Wilma.   Publication 4492 explains the major provisions of the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 and the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005. It also discusses certain IRS extended tax deadlines. However, it does not discuss the following recent changes from Notice 2006-17 and Notice 2006-20. You can find these notices in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2006-10 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irb/irb06-10.pdf.

Casualty and theft losses.    In Notice 2006-17, the IRS has extended to October 16, 2006, the deadline for making an election to claim a 2005 casualty or theft loss in 2004 if:

Extended tax deadlines.    In Notice 2006-20, the IRS has extended to August 28, 2006, deadlines that apply to filing returns, paying taxes, and performing certain other time-sensitive acts for certain taxpayers affected by Hurricane Katrina. The extension applies to deadlines that occur after August 28, 2005, and before August 28, 2006. The extension applies to affected taxpayers (see Publication 4492) determined by redefining “covered disaster area” to include only the Gulf Opportunity Zone.

Adjusting your withholding or estimated tax payments for 2006.   If your tax for 2006 will be more or less than your 2005 tax, you may need to adjust your withholding or estimated tax payments accordingly. If your tax will decrease, you can get the benefit of lower taxes throughout the year. If you will owe more tax, you can avoid a penalty when you file your tax return.

  See the following table for forms and publications that will help you adjust your withholding or estimated tax payments. See chapter 8 for information on ordering forms and publications.

Photographs of missing children.   The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.

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