In-Depth: Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) reintroduced this bill from the 115th Congress as part of the 2018 Natural Disasters Tax Relief Act, which seeks to give people rebuilding from natural disasters relief from some of the financial difficulties they’re facing:

“From Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas to the wildfires in California, natural disasters devastated communities across the country in 2018 and many people are still facing a long, costly recovery process. The 2018 Natural Disasters Tax Relief act will provide certainty and help alleviate some of the financial difficulties faced by those recovering from these disasters. This legislation creates an automatic 60-day tax deadline extension immediately following a Presidential Disaster Declaration. If a natural disaster coincides with a tax filing deadline, people will be able to prioritize their safety rather than worry about filing a tax return. As many of my constituents know too well, families are faced with unexpected costs after a natural disaster, but most do not have these funds at their immediate disposal. This legislation includes a number of targeted provisions that will ease this financial burden through targeted tax relief. I urge my colleagues to act quickly to pass this common-sense legislation that will provide a sense of stability and reassurance to those who are recovering from Hurricane Florence and other natural disasters across the nation.”

There are no cosponsors of this bill in the 116th Congress. Last Congress, this bill passed the full House as part of the Retirement, Savings, and Other Tax Relief Act of 2018 and the Tax Payer First Act of 2018 put together by then-House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), but that bill package didn’t pass the Senate due to most key Democratic leaders’ opposition to the proposed tax changes in the package.

Of Note: Currently, in the case of a federally declared disaster, taxpayers can call the IRS at 866-562-5227 to speak with an IRS specialist trained to handle disaster-related issues. The IRS is able to provide tax relief to victims of federally declared disasters by offering extended deadlines to file their returns and submit their payments.

Taxpayers who need copies of their prior-year tax return have several options for retrieving them, including going to their paid preparer for a copy from them; using the same tax preparation software that they used the previous year, as the software will likely have a copy of that return; returning to their prior-year software for an electronic copy of their return even if they’re not using the same tax preparation software; and retrieving their prior-year return from the IRS via the Get Transcript application on IRS.gov, which allows both electronic and hard copy receipt by mail.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) Press Release
  
• Sponsoring Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) Floor Remarks (115th Congress)