Reps. LaMalfa, Thompson, and Kiley Urge IRS to Extend Tax Filing Deadline For Disaster Victims
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressmen Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), and Kevin Kiley (R-CA) led a letter to the IRS asking for an extension of tax filing and payment deadlines in all California counties that received a disaster declaration from December 2022 to July 2023. The Congressmen are urging the IRS to utilize their existing policy that allows for the postponement of deadlines of up to one year from the original deadline. As such, tax filings and payments due on October 16, 2023, would be moved to April 2024.
Legislation led by Congressmen LaMalfa and Thompson to exempt all wildfire relief payments from federal income taxes was scheduled to be marked up in the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, October 4th, but was postponed due to the removal of the Speaker of the House and the requirement to name a Speaker before legislative House work can proceed. This deadline extension postponement will give Fire Victim Trust claimants an extra six months while the bill would hopefully be passed and taxes on their settlement money not enforced.
“Our fire survivors have waited patiently for taxation relief on their settlement money, and I will keep pursuing every avenue available to make sure that financial relief is provided. I, like many of my constituents, am extremely frustrated that the recent events of the House have upended efforts to get this legislation done, and that survivors have been stuck in taxation limbo for so long. This tax filing postponement gives Congress more time to get our bill passed and necessary relief to wildfire survivors,” said Congressman LaMalfa.
“Fire survivors have endured so much as a result of devastating wildfires and they should not be taxed on the settlements from the PG&E Fire Victims Trust,” said Rep. Mike Thompson. “Rep. LaMalfa and I are working closely with Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith to ensure that consideration of our bipartisan bill is done as soon as possible. My colleagues and I also urge the IRS to defer tax collection on victims trust fund payments to help to alleviate the stress that many fire survivors are experiencing as we work to enact our legislation into law.”
Read the full letter here or below:
Dear Commissioner Werfel,
We are respectfully requesting an extension of the postponed tax filing and payment deadlines currently set for October 16, 2023. This relief was initially provided in light of the severe winter storms, flooding, and mudslides that afflicted California from December 2022 to July 2023.
As you may recall, California endured unprecedented winter storms this past year, resulting in widespread flooding, power outages, damaging mudslides, and significant infrastructure collapse. The ramifications of this disaster have deeply affected the daily lives of many Californians, making it a challenging endeavor to meet certain obligations, including tax deadlines.
In response to the catastrophic conditions, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declared a state of major disaster on January 9, 2023, and again on April 3, 2023. Throughout the subsequent months, FEMA repeatedly amended those major disaster declarations to include additional counties severely affected and expand the categories of Public and Individual Assistance available. In line with this, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provided relief by postponing tax filing and payment deadlines for counties across the state affected by the disaster.
Considering the provisions of 26 U.S.C. §7508A(a), which allows the postponement of deadlines to up to one additional year, and noting that the current relief makes deadlines between December 27, 2022, and October 16, 2023, due on October 16, 2023 – a period less than a year for all such postponements – we request that deadlines originally falling on or after December 27, 2022 be postponed to the maximum extent allowed by 26 U.S.C. §7508A(a).
Understanding the immense financial and emotional toll these individuals are already facing, this further extension would provide these individuals additional time to recover and manage their financial responsibilities.
We look forward to your prompt attention to this matter. If you have additional questions, please contact our offices.
Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba Counties.
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