The Senate passed a bipartisan bill by unanimous consent that would provide tax-filing relief for taxpayers in states that have issued state-level disaster declarations after unanimous passage earlier this year in the House, sending the bill to President Trump for his signature.
The bill, known as the Filing Relief for Natural Disaster Act, has been a longstanding priority for the American Institute of CPAs and state CPA societies that lobbied for its passage. The bill was
The bill would authorize the Internal Revenue Service to postpone federal tax deadlines for taxpayers affected by a qualified state-declared disaster once there’s a declaration by the state governor.
Historically, the process of receiving tax-filing and payment relief from the IRS during a disaster is triggered by a federal disaster declaration, which can come days, weeks or months after a disaster. That means affected taxpayers may need to wait for months before knowing if they will be entitled to much-needed tax relief. The legislation promises to expedite the issuance of federal tax relief and give the IRS the authority to grant tax relief once the governor of a state declares a disaster or state of emergency.
“The passage of this important legislation is a major win for taxpayers and tax practitioners across the country,” said AICPA president and CEO Mark Koziel in a statement. “When taxpayers are impacted by a disaster, the stress, anxiety and emotional toll can be overwhelming — these people should be afforded every opportunity to meet their tax obligations without additional hardship. We applaud the actions taken by members of Congress to set aside political ideology and unanimously support taxpayers by providing disaster victims’ timely relief. This bill will allow those impacted by a natural disaster to have certainty that tax filing deadlines will be extended earlier in the process, and sometimes before the disaster occurs, so they can focus on their safety.”
The IRS currently has the authority to postpone tax filing deadlines following a presidentially declared federal disaster but not after a state-level emergency declaration.
The Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act would allow the governor of a state or territory to extend a federal tax filing deadline following a state-declared emergency or natural disaster without waiting for a federal disaster declaration. This would allow states to provide federal tax extensions independent of the federal government’s involvement in an emergency or natural disaster.
The bill would also expand the mandatory federal filing extension from 60 days to 120 days.
Passage of the bipartisan bill comes only a week after
“When states like Louisiana are reeling from a hurricane, they can’t always wait around for Washington to act,” Kennedy said in a statement. “I’m grateful to my colleagues for voting to pass the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act to make sure hard-hit communities can get important tax extensions without unnecessary delays.”
“A natural disaster is devastating for anyone,” stated Cortez Masto. “Impacted taxpayers should not have to worry about whether their state’s natural disaster has been recognized by the president for them to receive the support they deserve. This bipartisan legislation will ensure that anyone impacted by state-level emergencies can have some peace of mind when filling their taxes.”
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