Hurricane Helene Tax Relief Resources
October 4, 2024
We hope you and your loved ones remained safe during Hurricane Helene, and that the effects of the storm were minimal for you. However, if you were significantly impacted by Hurricane Helene, we wanted to provide some resources on available tax relief and other assistance that may be available to you.
Casualty Losses
A casualty is the damage, destruction, or loss of property resulting from an identifiable event that is sudden, unexpected, or unusual. If damage is to personal, income‐producing, or business property, you may be able to claim a casualty loss deduction on your personal or business tax return.
You have the option of claiming disaster-related casualty losses on your federal income tax return for either 2023 or 2024. Claiming the loss on your original or an amended return for 2023 will allow you to potentially receive any associated refund earlier, but waiting to claim the loss on your return for 2024 could result in greater tax savings, depending on other income factors.
The casualty loss is generally the smaller of 1) the adjusted basis of the property (your original purchase plus improvements less depreciation), or 2) the decline in fair market value before v. after the hurricane. Any insurance reimbursement then reduces the loss.
You may deduct personal (nonbusiness) property losses that are not covered by insurance or other reimbursements, but you must first subtract $100 for each casualty event and then subtract ten percent of your adjusted gross income from your total personal casualty losses for the year. If you need assistance calculating your losses, check out this helpful page from the IRS or contact our office.
Record Reconstruction
Reconstructing records after a disaster may be essential for tax purposes, getting federal assistance, or insurance reimbursement. After a disaster, you might need certain records to prove their loss. The more accurately the loss is estimated, the more loan and grant money there may be available.
Be sure to save receipts, take pictures of the damage, keep estimates on repairs and insurance damage quotes for your records.
The IRS is waiving any usual fees and will expedite requests for copies of previous year’s tax returns for taxpayers in affected areas when requests designate the disaster per the IRS instructions.
In most cases we will also have a copy of any returns we have previously filed on your behalf and can provide these to you via the portal. If you need to request any previous years returns to be published to your portal, please email our office.
The IRS also offers guidance on reconstructing other records that you may need when applying for assistance here.
Where to Go for Help or how you can help
Our local Manatee Chamber of Commerce website is a great resource for most of the assistance you may need in the upcoming weeks, not only for Manatee County, but all of Florida, including links to Florida Commerce, SBA EIDL loans, FloridaDisaster.biz, FEMA, and more.
The Manatee Community Foundation is another great resource to find help or ways that you can help as our community recovers. Visit their Disaster Relief page here.
We remain committed to supporting our clients and our community in recovery efforts. If there is any way we can be of assistance to you, please contact our office.