IRS Tax Relief for Roofers and Roofing Contractors Get Help With Storm-Year Tax Bills and Crew Payroll
Updated
Roofing money comes in waves: one hail or hurricane season can bring a year of work in a few months, paid by insurance checks with nothing set aside for taxes. When the April bill lands or crew payroll falls behind, we take over the IRS side so your crews stay up on the roofs.
+23,500 jobs
Roofing contractors had 23,500 more jobs in July 2025 than in January, by BLS count. The work, and the money, comes in a rush.
Why roofers owe
How a Good Storm Season Turns Into an IRS Balance
After a big hail or wind event, the phone doesn't stop. You sign jobs for months, the insurance company releases a first check when the claim is approved, and the rest often waits until the roof is finished. None of that money has tax taken out, and it almost never lines up with the quarterly estimate dates.
The IRS expects tax to come in as you earn it, so skipping estimates during a rush adds a penalty on top of the balance. When income arrives unevenly, annualizing it on Form 2210 can lower or remove that penalty, because it matches what you owed to when you were actually paid (IRS, estimated taxes).
Then the slow months come. The crew still needs paying, the trucks and the dumpster rentals still need paying, and the money meant for the IRS goes to keeping the company alive until the next storm. That's how one great year becomes two years of balances and a payroll account that's behind.
IRS problems
IRS Problems Roofing Contractors Call Us About
Most start with one storm year that paid well and a tax bill nobody planned for. Some are several years deep, with a crew payroll account mixed in.
Back Taxes From a Big Storm Year
A season of insurance-paid jobs can leave a balance bigger than any one check, with next year's estimates already due. We pull your transcripts, file anything missing, and look for the IRS program that fits what the business clears in a normal month.
See how we helpPayroll Taxes for Your Roofing Crew
Tear-off and install crews on W-2 mean 941 deposits all year, even when the jobs dry up. Skip them in a slow stretch and the withheld part can be assessed against you personally through the trust fund recovery penalty. We work the open quarters and answer the IRS for you.
See how we helpPer-Square Crews Paid on a 1099
Paying a crew leader by the square on a 1099 is everyday roofing. If the IRS decides those workers were really your employees, it can assess employment taxes for them, and a worker can ask the IRS for a status ruling on Form SS-8 without you. We represent you through the exam.
See how we helpLevies When the Insurance Money Lands
A bank levy grabs what's sitting in the account when the bank receives it, which can be the insurance deposit you were counting on for shingles and payroll. We file Power of Attorney right away and request a release tied to a plan the IRS can accept.
See how we helpUnfiled Years After a Busy Stretch
When you're running three crews through storm season, the return is the first thing to slide. Leave it long enough and the IRS can build a substitute return from the 1099s it has, which may leave out your materials and labor. We file the real years with those costs counted.
See how we helpPenalties Worth Asking to Remove
Late filing, late payment and late deposit penalties stack up quickly in a roofing company with uneven cash. First-time abatement and reasonable cause, including a disaster that hit your own business, are both worth asking about. The IRS reviews the request and decides.
See how we help
Roofing by the numbers
A Trade of Small Shops That Hire Fast When the Weather Turns
Census counts 25,519 roofing contractors with paid employees, and about two thirds of them have fewer than five people on payroll (Census, County Business Patterns 2023). Florida has more employed roofers than any other state, about 17% of the national total (BLS, roofers, May 2025).
A small shop with a big seasonal swing is right where IRS trouble starts. One owner does the estimating, the selling, the crew schedule and the books, and the books usually come last.
25,519
Roofing contractor businesses with paid employees in the U.S. in 2023, per the Census Bureau.
65%
Share of those roofing contractors with fewer than five employees on payroll.
17%
Share of employed U.S. roofers who work in Florida, the most of any state (BLS, May 2025).
Sources: Census, County Business Patterns 2023 · BLS OEWS, Roofers · BLS CES, roofing contractors
Disaster relief
What IRS Disaster Relief Postpones for Roofers, and What It Doesn't
After a FEMA disaster declaration, the IRS postpones filing and payment deadlines for people who live in the covered counties and businesses whose principal place of business is there. The new date can cover income tax returns, estimated payments and quarterly payroll returns, and the IRS applies it automatically based on the address it has for you.
Storm crews need to know one thing. The relief follows where you live and where your business is based, not where the work is. Drive in from three states away to work a hurricane zone and your own deadlines don't move. Relief workers for recognized government or charity groups are covered, but a roofing company working the rebuild isn't on that list.
Payroll deposits are the other trap. The announcements don't postpone employment tax deposits, apart from a short grace window, so your 941 deposits stay due while the quarterly return gets more time. If you're already on an IRS payment plan, a missed payment in the window won't default it, but interest and penalties keep running (IRS notice IN-2026-01).
How disaster relief works for a roofer
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FEMA Declares the Area
The IRS posts a relief notice that lists the covered counties and the new deadline.
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Your Address Decides
Relief applies if you live or your business is based in a listed county, not where you're working.
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Returns and Estimates Move
Income tax returns, estimated payments and quarterly 941 returns due in the window get the later date.
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Deposits Stay Due
Payroll tax deposits keep their normal dates once the short grace window closes.
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Wrong Penalties Get Called In
If a penalty notice covers a postponed date, the IRS says to call the number on it to have it abated.
Discreet help
You Don't Have to Explain How It Happened
Most roofers we hear from have a crew that assumes the boss has it handled and a family that hasn't seen the IRS letters. Storm work is feast or famine, and owing after a feast year happens to plenty of solid roofing companies. Nobody here is going to lecture you about it.
Your consultation is free and confidential. Once you hire us and Power of Attorney is on file, the IRS deals with us, so the calls and the back-and-forth stop landing on you.
How We Keep It Discreet
- A free, confidential first conversation
- No judgment about how it happened
- Once Power of Attorney is filed, the IRS contacts us
- Phone, secure document portal, and video, with no office visit
How it works
How We Work a Roofing Company's IRS Case
You can handle your part from the truck between estimates. We work by phone, secure upload and video, and once Power of Attorney is on file, the IRS calls us instead of you.
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Free Consultation
A representative calls you back, listens to what is going on, and tells you whether we can help.
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Power of Attorney
We file Form 2848 so the IRS contacts us instead of you.
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Transcripts and Returns
We pull your IRS transcripts and get any missing returns filed.
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Request to the IRS
We submit the program request on your behalf. The IRS reviews and decides.
Timelines and outcomes are determined by the IRS based on the facts of each case. Results vary and are not guaranteed.
IRS programs
IRS Programs That Can Fit a Roofing Business
Installment Agreement
A monthly payment sized to a normal month, not a storm month. The law bars IRS levies while a plan request is pending or in effect, which protects the account when the next insurance check lands.
Offer in Compromise
When a dry year leaves your income and equity short of what you owe, an offer may settle the debt for less. The IRS counts your trucks, trailers and lifts too, so we run its math before you apply.
Currently Not Collectible
If the off-season leaves nothing after basic living costs, the IRS can mark the account not collectible for now. Interest and penalties still run, and the IRS can revisit it when the work comes back.
Penalty Abatement
A clean history can qualify for first-time abatement, and a storm that damaged your own shop or records can support reasonable cause. Either one lowers the balance you're working against.
Where we help
Where We Help Roofing Contractors
We work with roofers all over the country by phone, secure upload and video, wherever the storms take your crews. The local pages below cover the IRS offices and the free taxpayer help in each area.
Frequently asked
Roofers and the IRS: Common Questions
Does IRS Disaster Relief Cover Me If I Work Storm Jobs Out of Town?
My Business Is in the Disaster Area. Do I Still Make Payroll Deposits?
The Insurance Paid Me in Two Big Checks. Why Do I Owe an Estimated Tax Penalty?
Can the IRS Treat My Crew Leader's Workers as My Employees?
Can the IRS Levy My Bank Account Right After a Big Deposit?
How Much Does It Cost to Resolve a Roofer's IRS Debt?
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I was having issues understanding my tax documentation that was being sent to me, so I had Case Manager helped me with this. They done an awesome job of helping me and willing to continue helping when I need it. Appreciate everything they done for me. Thank you
It's been very awesome Josh Molina was very attentive and explained and made sure that I understood the process, I recommend his service. Thank you Josh
My whole experience has been great. Excellent service. Pablo has been great with keeping me informed how everything is proceeding. Thank you Pablo for everything you and all staff have done.
Ready to Settle the IRS Side Before Next Storm Season?
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