NW Tennessee News

Congressman David Kustoff and Congresswoman Judy Chu have introduced a new bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives aimed at providing relief to taxpayers affected by natural disasters. The proposed legislation, known as the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, seeks to offer support to those impacted by such events.

"Families and businesses across the nation are the victims of national disasters. Many in Tennessee are still grappling with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene," stated Congressman Kustoff. "It is essential that the federal government provides the support and resources that these individuals need. That is why I introduced the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, which would postpone tax filing deadlines to taxpayers affected by state-declared disasters. This legislation will give families the flexibility they need to rebuild and recover."

Congresswoman Chu highlighted recent challenges faced by her district due to natural disasters: “Over the past week, my district has been devastated by the Eaton Fire, which has taken lives, destroyed 7,000 structures, left 20,000 people homeless, and burned countless businesses and community institutions to the ground. Thankfully, the administration issued a federal major disaster declaration for the fires across Los Angeles County, which enabled the IRS to quickly extend federal filing deadlines for victims and provide needed relief.”

She further explained that delays in federal declarations can hinder timely assistance: “But for many disasters, federal declarations may come days or even weeks after the state declaration, leaving open the question of whether the IRS will be able to give disaster victims timely filing relief. The Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act is a common-sense, bipartisan solution to this problem that will give the IRS authority to bypass bureaucratic delays and immediately extend tax filing deadlines after state-declared disasters and states of emergency.”

Melanie Lauridsen from AICPA expressed support for this legislative effort: “Disasters impact millions of Americans each year – from hurricanes and floods to tornadoes and wildfires. It is vital that taxpayers impacted by natural disasters and facing filing and payment deadlines are given tools to help minimize challenges they face as they rebuild their lives and businesses,” she said. “We are grateful to Congressman Kustoff and Congresswoman Chu for their steadfast leadership on legislation that would provide this critical relief to millions of taxpayers during difficult circumstances.”

The current policy allows IRS deadline extensions only following federally-declared disasters. The new act aims to authorize similar extensions when a state governor declares an emergency or disaster. Additionally, it proposes extending mandatory deadline extensions from 60 days to 120 days after federally-declared disaster declarations.