Washington, DC — Residents of our four-county area of O’Brien, Sioux, Osceola, and Lyon counties (and several others) will be able to deduct some disaster-related expenses from their federal taxes.
Congress recently passed disaster tax relief legislation that will give eligible taxpayers a break on their federal tax bill. It allows for individuals impacted by a natural disaster in an area that received a major presidential disaster declaration – from December 2020 up to 60 days after enactment, as long as the disaster occurred on or before the date of enactment – to deduct personal casualty losses, to the extent they exceed $500 per casualty. The deduction is available to those who don’t itemize their taxes and may be claimed in addition to the standard federal deduction.
Senator Chuck Grassley’s office says impacted Iowans should consult their tax advisors about whether they qualify to take advantage of this relief. As a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, Grassley says he was glad to support this tax relief proposal to help Iowans who suffered financial hardship through no fault of their own. He says that in addition to visiting impacted communities, he keeps in touch with residents, farmers, business owners, and civic leaders as local communities across our state have “worked hard to recover and rebuild from natural disasters.”
A: Iowans living in a county that received a major presidential disaster declaration from December 2020 up through 60 days after enactment, as long as the disaster occurred on or before the date of enactment of the law, will qualify for the federal disaster relief tax credit. To date, Iowa has received five major presidential disaster declarations during this time frame.
One of the declarations involves the significant damage from severe storms, flooding, straight line winds and tornadoes June 16-July 23, 2024. The following counties were in a qualified disaster area: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Des Moines, Dickinson, Dubuque, Emmet, Floyd, Harrison, Howard, Humboldt, Jackson, Kossuth, Lyon, Mitchell, Monona, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Pottawattamie, Scott, Sioux, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, Worth, Wright.
