FEMA/MEMA Assistance Generally Not Taxable; Deadline To File Nears
Release Date: October 4, 2006
Release Number: 1604-453
» More Information on Mississippi Hurricane Katrina
BILOXI, Miss. -- Individuals who received grant payments to compensate them for the damage to or destruction of their primary homes by Hurricane Katrina generally will not be required to include the grant proceeds in gross income. Disaster aid also will not cause recipients to lose U.S. Social Security Administration benefits.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency have awarded millions of dollars in housing assistance and other needs assistance for personal property, medical care and transportation. These payments generally are not considered additional income for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Social Security purposes.
The IRS and the State of Mississippi also are providing additional time to file 2004 and 2005 individual income tax returns. Certain Katrina-affected taxpayers have until Oct. 16, 2006 to file their returns.
The additional time to file individual income tax returns applies only to residents of Mississippi’s 49 counties that were declared eligible for FEMA’s Individual Assistance program.
To ensure that eligible taxpayers receive the relief to which they are entitled, they should mark “Hurricane Katrina” in red ink on the top of their returns. Affected taxpayers also may identify themselves as eligible by calling the IRS Disaster Hotline at 1-(866) 562-5227.
Information on IRS publications is available at www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html. For Social Security publications, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs. To access the Social Security helpline, call toll free 1-800-772-1213 or TTY 1-800-325-0778 for the hearing impaired. All calls are treated confidentially.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 04-Oct-2006 12:38:07