Road to recovery — Primer on disaster tax relief

The impact of disasters can be life changing. Fortunately, special tax law provisions may aid in the recovery efforts for individual taxpayers and businesses alike. Depending on the circumstances, the IRS may grant additional time to file returns and pay taxes. Victims may also be able to deduct casualty losses that occurred.

In this Tax Section Odyssey podcast episode, Jerry Schreiber, CPA, partner at Schreiber & Schreiber in Louisiana, the recipient of the AICPA’s 2018 Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award and dubbed the “Master of Disaster,” along with Amy Miller, JD, CPA, Senior Manager — AICPA Tax Policy & Advocacy, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing AICPA & CIMA, join April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — Tax Practice & Ethics, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing AICPA & CIMA, to discuss tax-related disaster relief and insights to resources available for taxpayers and their CPA practitioners.  

 What you’ll learn in this episode

• Top AICPA member concerns during disasters (1.18)
• How tax relief is applied if either the CPA practitioner or the client is not located in the disaster area (2.30)
• Summary of the steps CPA practitioners can take to help clients impacted by a disaster (3.38)
• Tax-deductible charitable contributions (7.17)
• How CPA practitioners can assist their business clients in disaster situations (11.18)
• AICPA advocacy efforts in the disaster arena (12.36)
• Helpful resources in times of disasters (16.28)

 AICPA resources:

• Disaster Tax Relief Guidance and Resources —Provides answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) concerning a disaster, casualty or theft; how these events may impact a client’s tax returns and business affairs and a list of valuable resources to help navigate the complexities of a disaster.
• Disaster financial issues tools to help with disaster recovery — Tools included on this page include the Disaster and Financial Planning Guide and Disaster and Financial Planning Guide Checklists by the American Red Cross.

Other resources:

• Guides for CPAs to providing disaster assistance — Please contact Jerry Schreiber at ghschreiber@bellsouth.net to request detailed, state-specific guides on disaster-related topics, including the disaster declaration process, tax implications of disasters, IRS filing relief, insurance company claim numbers and FAQs on charitable contributions for aid given to disaster victims. The guides are frequently updated.
• LA-2021-04, August 31, 2021 — IRS announces tax relief for victims of Hurricane Ida in Louisiana
• IR-2021-175, August 31, 2021 — IRS announces tax relief to victims of Hurricane Ida
• fema.gov — The official website of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Revenue Procedure 2018-08 —Provides safe harbor methods that may be used in the case of casualty and theft losses occurring as a result of any federally declared disaster.
• Tax Relief in Disaster Situations — IRS website housing the most recent tax relief provisions for taxpayers affected by disaster situations
• Publication 584, Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook — Designed to help to help taxpayers figure losses on personal-use property in the event of a disaster, casualty or theft.
• Publication 584-B, Business Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook — Designed to help taxpayers figure losses on business and income-producing property in the event of a disaster, casualty or theft.

Note: If your podcast app does not hyperlink to resources, visit https://taxodyssey.libsyn.com to access show notes with direct links.

This episode is brought to you by the AICPA’s Tax Section, your home base to maintain your professional edge. To learn more about the Tax Section, check out aicpa.org/tax or sign up for a free web tour.