House Readies Tax Bill to Aid Storm Victims
September 22 2017 - 4:32PM
Dow Jones News
By Richard Rubin
WASHINGTON -- U.S. taxpayers affected by this year's hurricanes
would get bigger-than-usual deductions for their property losses
and penalty-free access to retirement accounts under a tax bill
released Friday.
The bill, from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin
Brady (R., Texas), could get a vote in the full House as early as
next week.
The bill would apply in areas damaged by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma
and Maria and declared as certain kinds of disaster zones by
President Donald Trump. The Joint Committee on Taxation hasn't yet
released an estimate of the bill's effect on federal revenue.
"My bill specifically helps hurricane victims keep more of their
paycheck, deduct more of the cost of their expensive property
damage, and have more affordable and immediate access to money they
have saved for their retirement," Mr. Brady said in a
statement.
Normally, taxpayers trying to deduct casualty losses that
haven't been reimbursed through insurance must have lost at least
10% of adjusted gross income and must itemize their deductions. The
bill would eliminate both requirements, according to a committee
summary.
Mr. Brady, who represents a suburban Houston district affected
by Hurricane Harvey, would also create an exception for people to
withdraw money from retirement plans such as 401(k)s without the
10% penalty that typically applies for people under age 59 1/2
.
For taxpayers outside the disaster areas, the bill waives the
usual limits on charitable contributions for hurricane-related
donations this year. Cash donations, for example, are typically
capped at 50% of adjusted gross income.
Mr. Brady's disaster tax-relief bill is attached to extensions
of federal aviation and health programs.
The House, where tax bills must start, has been moving more
quickly than the Senate on hurricane-related tax policy.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) is
talking with committee members about what they would like to do,
said his spokeswoman, Julia Lawless.
Congress often passes tax bills after disasters along with
spending measures.
Write to Richard Rubin at richard.rubin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 22, 2017 16:17 ET (20:17 GMT)
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