VIDEO: Rep. Chu's Floor remarks before passage of H.R. 517, Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 517, Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, introduced by Reps. Judy Chu (CA-28) and David Kustoff (TN-08) by a vote of 388-0.

This bill would provide relief for impacted taxpayers in states that have issued state-level disaster declarations. Currently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has the authority to postpone filing deadlines in the event of a presidentially-declared federal disaster, but this does not extend to state-level emergencies.

Each year, states like California declare state-level emergencies for disasters like wildfires, floods, or earthquakes. Under current law, Californians are not eligible for federal filing relief for these disasters until they're also declared by the President of the United States. Those declarations can take days or even weeks, which was the case in 2020 after devastating wildfires, including the Bobcat Fire in the San Gabriel Mountains, ravaged the state. That means taxpayers who just suffered a disaster might face two separate tax deadlines for state and federal returns. This legislation would ensure that victims can get the instantaneous federal filing relief they need to recover from natural disasters as soon as the Governor declares a state-level emergency.

"While President Biden immediately declared a federal disaster for the Los Angeles fires that devastated my district in January, that was unusually fast. That means that if disaster strikes during filing season, taxpayers run the risk of missing federal filing deadlines through no fault of their own. And, there may be serious natural disasters that affect taxpayers' ability to file, but don't ever get declared as a federal disaster," said Rep. Chu.

"Our bill solves these problems by giving Treasury and the IRS authority to postpone federal filing deadlines in response to a request by a governor that has declared a state-level disaster. And, it would double the minimum duration of these filing extensions from 60 to 120 days.

"I am proud that our bipartisan bill passed the House, and I continue to urge my colleagues to work with me to support the victims of January's Los Angeles Fires, including the Eaton Fire in my district, by passing a supplemental disaster appropriations package with no strings attached."