WASHINGTON — Taxpayers and tax preparers affected in coming days by Hurricane Ike will have an extra seven days to file corporate tax returns and third-quarter estimated taxes otherwise due on Monday, Sept. 15, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service announced today.

Hurricane Ike is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Texas, not far from Houston, by early Saturday morning.

Because the storm is falling within one business day of the Sept. 15 due dates, taxpayers directly impacted by the storm will have until midnight Sept. 22 to meet their tax filing obligations without incurring late filing and payment penalties.

The IRS is likely to further postpone that deadline and make further tax relief available following damage assessments by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Affected taxpayers can mark paper tax returns with the words “Hurricane Ike.” Taxpayers who e-file their returns can use their software’s “disaster” feature, if available.

Taxpayers can keep up to date by visiting the IRS.gov Web site.