New Law Expands Disaster Tax Relief

Photo by Big Pixel Photo from Freerange Stock

The Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act was signed into law in September. It extends expanded personal deductions for disaster-related losses temporarily available under the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act. Without the relief, victims of a federally declared disaster can deduct personal casualty losses only if they itemize deductions and only to the extent those losses exceeded 10% of their adjusted gross income (AGI).

The now-extended relief allows eligible disaster victims — generally for disasters starting December 28, 2019, through December 31, 2026 — to deduct qualified losses above $500 without itemizing and removes the 10% of AGI threshold for those losses. The law also extends the exclusion of qualified wildfire relief payments from taxable gross income. Contact the office for details.

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