Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis joins Fox & Friends to discuss the state’s property insurance crisis as residents reel from Hurricane Milton.
The tens of millions of Americans living in federal disaster areas will be eligible for some relief on their taxes in the form of a filing deferral, and victims may be able to get a deduction for the losses.
The Internal Revenue Service has automatically extended the filing deadline for taxpayers living in areas affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton to May 1, 2025, giving residents and businesses in those states and parts of states some additional time.
An aerial view of flood damage caused by Hurricane Helene along the Swannanoa River on October 3, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina. At least 200 people have died in six states in the wake of the powerful hurricane that made landfall as a category. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images/Getty Images)
However, the expansion is only for people in zip codes officially designated as federal disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
For Helene, that includes the entire states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as several counties in Tennessee, Virginia and Florida.
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But the entire state of Florida has been designated a disaster area because of Milton, so every resident is eligible for that expansion.
An aerial photo shows a Sheriff’s Department vehicle driving through flooded streets in Tampa, Florida, as a result of Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The Sunshine State is also offering hurricane victims a break on their property taxes. Under the property tax credit that Florida signed into law after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022, homeowners can receive a prorated refund on their property taxes if a home is made uninhabitable for at least 30 days by one of the deadly hurricanes.
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Under federal law, victims living in federally designated disaster areas can also deduct losses not covered by insurance — but the details are complicated, as The Wall Street Journal notes.
Roy’s restaurant worker searches through the rubble of the demolished restaurant after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Steinhatchee, Florida on Friday, September 27, 2024. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Michael Shaff, an attorney with Foundation Law Group, emphasized to FOX Business that victims must live in a federally declared disaster area to claim a loss deduction, and that individuals and businesses only have two years to do so.
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Shaff warned, “Whatever type of repair you get – whether it’s from the government or an insurance company – you need to keep an eye on how long you have to replace it, and what you can replace it with.”
