The IRS has yet again extended the relief it provided for Hurricane Harvey to cover Hurricane Irma. In Notice 2017-52 the IRS has provided the same relief for employees and employers when a leave donation program to benefit victims of Hurricane Irma as Notice 2017-48, the details of which were covered in an earlier blog post.

Generally, an employer can allow employees to donate leave time of any sort to a program where the employer then pays an amount equal to the value of that time to a §170(c) charity to be used for relief for victims of either hurricane. The IRS will not treat the payment as taxable income for the employee, but will treat the amount as compensation expense, rather than a charitable contribution, for the employer.

The payment to the charitable organization must be made before January 1, 2019.