Tax Provisions in the 2017 Disaster Tax Relief Bill.

On September 28, Congress approved H.R. 3823, the “Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017,” a bill providing temporary tax relief to victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. The measure is expected to be swiftly signed into law by President Trump.

How the Tax Law Helps Victims of Disasters: In addition to recent disaster tax relief legislation and specific IRS administrative hurricane relief, relief is also provide in the current Code and regs for disaster victims. This article, the first installment of a 2-part Practice Alert, deals with the postponement of time-sensitive acts; the exclusion for qualified disaster relief payments; the casualty loss deduction in general; and the casualty loss deduction rules unique to individuals and those that are unique to businesses.   The second installment of a 2-part Practice Alert, deals with the election to deduct disaster losses in the preceding year; presumptions where a home is demolished; eased rules for homes damaged in federal disaster; qualification for reduced homesale exclusion; voluntary sale of the remainder of property after a portion is destroyed/condemned; liberal replacement rule for destroyed business property; and the deferral of state disaster relief grants to a business.