The U.S. Senate has passed the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., that would expand federal tax filing relief to individuals affected by state-declared disasters.
The legislation now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.
Under current law, the IRS can only postpone tax filing deadlines in areas where the president has issued a federal disaster declaration. The new bill would change that, allowing governors to trigger the same federal tax relief measures after issuing a state-level disaster declaration.
“When states like Louisiana are reeling from a hurricane, they can’t always wait around for Washington to act,” Kennedy said. “I’m grateful to my colleagues for voting to pass the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act to make sure hard-hit communities can get important tax extensions without unnecessary delays.”
Cortez Masto added that impacted taxpayers shouldn’t have to wait for the White House to act before getting the support they need.
“This bipartisan legislation will ensure that anyone impacted by state-level emergencies can have some peace of mind when filing their taxes,” Masto said.
In addition to empowering governors to request IRS deadline extensions, the bill also lengthens the mandatory extension period from 60 to 120 days.
The changes would apply to natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, floods, and other events deemed severe enough by the governor to warrant tax relief — even if no federal declaration is made.
If signed into law, the reform would amend Section 7508A of the Internal Revenue Code to take immediate effect for future state disaster declarations.
