Cassidy Introduces Bill to Help Families Claim the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits After a Natural Disaster

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced the Working Families Disaster Tax Relief Act to allow disaster-impacted working families to use the previous year's income to claim the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) after a presidential major disaster declaration.

"After a natural disaster hits, a family's ability to make a living can be wiped away just as easily as their home. We should ensure that parents who lose income keep the ability to feed their children," said Dr. Cassidy.

The Working Families Disaster Tax Relief Act would:

1. Prevent families from losing access to these benefits due to temporary income loss. Congress has authorized similar temporary provisions for both the CTC and EITC following recent major disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, and for all taxpayers nationwide during COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021.
2. Amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow disaster-affected taxpayers to use a previous year's income for the Child Tax Credit when the President declares a major disaster under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
3. Designate disaster-affected taxpayers to include individuals whose principal place of abode or principal place of work is located in a disaster zone.

Cassidy was joined by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in introducing the legislation.

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