Mississippi Disaster Victims May Be Eligible For Tax Relief
Release Date: December 20, 2005
Release Number: 1604-184
» More Information on Mississippi Hurricane Katrina
JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi taxpayers who experienced disaster-related losses as a result of Hurricane Katrina may be eligible for tax relief from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urges those impacted by the disaster to seek tax counseling this year to take advantage of all available tax relief through the IRS's programs.
The IRS offers a variety of assistance to disaster survivors and may allow casualty losses that were suffered on real property, home personal property and household goods to be deducted on the income tax return if they are not covered by insurance.
"Special tax law provisions may help taxpayers recover financially from the impact of the disaster, because of the federal disaster declaration," said Mark Green, IRS spokesperson for Mississippi. "Both individuals and businesses in the 49 counties declared disaster areas have the option of claiming disaster-related casualty losses on their federal income tax return for either this year or last year. Claiming the loss on an original or amended return for last year will get the taxpayer an earlier refund, but waiting to claim the loss on this year's return could result in greater tax savings, depending on other income factors."
The Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 also gives taxpayers in the hardest-hit counties until February 28, 2006 to file quarterly estimated taxes due September 15, 2005 and January 15, 2006 for individuals and September 15, 2005 and December 15, 2006 for corporations. The IRS will waive the usual fees and expedite requests for copies of previously filed tax returns for affected taxpayers who need them to apply for benefits or to file amended returns claiming casualty losses.
Katrina victims should keep accurate records to document a casualty loss deduction. This would include before and after photographs of damaged property, estimates of repairs, appraisals and any other documentation to aid in establishing the amount of property damage or value of the property.
Mississippi taxpayers who have other hurricane-related questions can also call the special IRS disaster hotline at 1-866-562-5227 and visit online at www.irs.gov.
Officials encourage all Hurricane Katrina victims to apply for assistance before the Jan. 11, 2006 deadline by calling the FEMA toll-free application number at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 for speech- or hearing-impaired, or apply online at www.fema.gov.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 20-Dec-2005 15:46:00