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Tax Relief for California Wildfire Victims Moves Closer to Reality

After years of frustrating delays, wildfire victims in California are on the brink of receiving long-awaited tax relief. The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, which exempts settlement payments for victims of utility-sparked wildfires from federal income taxes. The bill now heads to President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign it into law.

What the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act Does

The new legislation provides key benefits for wildfire survivors, including:

Tax Exemptions: Settlement payments from lawsuits related to utility-caused wildfires will no longer be treated as taxable income.
Casualty Loss Deductions: Affected individuals can deduct losses exceeding $500 without needing to itemize deductions.
Retroactive Relief: The law applies retroactively to payments issued as far back as December 2020.

If you or someone you know has been affected by California wildfires and received a settlement payment, we can help them understand how this new law may impact them. We will continue to monitor and update this story if the President signs it.

By Linkenheimer LLP|2024-12-06T04:27:21+00:00December 6th, 2024|disaster, fire, Fire Relief Info|0 Comments

Thompson, LaMalfa Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Ensure Fire Victims Don’t Pay Taxes on PG&E Court-Ordered Trust Payments

Washington –

Today, Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-05) and Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure that no fire survivors are taxed on the payments they received from the PG&E Fire Victims Trust. Following fires in 2015, 2017, and 2018, PG&E established a court-ordered trust of over $13 billion for survivors of these devastating events.

“I have heard from constituents across our community who are deeply, deeply concerned that they will face a tax burden upon receiving a payout from PG&E,” said Thompson. “This trust was set up to help people get back on their feet and recover after a destructive fire. They should not have to pay taxes on these payouts. I am proud to introduce this bill alongside Rep. LaMalfa to help our constituents receive the money they are owed, and will continue working to ensure survivors have the resources they need to recover from these tragedies.”

“Fire victims have lost homes, belongings, and for some, even their loved ones. We should not ask survivors to pay federal taxes on compensation that they will use to rebuild their lives. And we certainly should not be asking them to pay taxes on […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2022-04-01T22:47:30+00:00April 1st, 2022|fire, Fire Relief Info, New Tax Laws|0 Comments

California Tax Updates Regarding Wildfire Victims

Update 1:

Wildfire victims in parts of California now have until Jan. 3, 2022, to file certain tax returns and make tax payments. In August 2021, CA granted extensions to individuals and businesses affected by wildfires. They were originally given until Nov. 15, 2021 to complete these tasks. The IRS has now extended that deadline to Jan. 3, 2022. This deadline also applies to the quarterly payroll and tax returns normally due on Aug. 2, 2021, and Nov. 1, 2021. In addition, penalties on payroll tax deposits due on or after July 17, 2021, but before July 29, 2021 will be abated as long as the deposits were made by July 29, 2021.

Update 2:

New rates for California’s cannabis cultivation tax have been posted for 2022.The CA Dept. of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) lists the following: cannabis flower, $10.08 per dry-weight ounce; cannabis leaves, $3.00 per dry-weight ounce; and fresh cannabis plants, $1.41 per ounce. Rates for cannabis cultivation tax are […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2021-12-02T20:34:10+00:00December 2nd, 2021|filing deadline, fire, Fire Relief Info, tax deadlines|0 Comments

California Tax Updates from 8/25

Update 1:

Employers in California counties plagued by wildfires get payroll tax relief. The CA Employment Development Dept. (EDD) has announced tax relief for employers in Trinity, Tehama and Shasta Counties, directly affected by the McFarland, Monument and Dixie Fires. Those employers may request up to a 60-day extension of time from the EDD to file their state payroll reports and deposit payroll taxes, without penalty or interest. A written request for an extension must be received within 60 days from the original delinquent date of the payment or return. Here’s more: https://bit.ly/389teWV

Update 2:

If you’re a California resident who owes estimated CA tax payments, your next payment due date is rolling up fast. By Sept. 15, the third installment of your 2021 state tax is due. Generally, you must make estimated payments if you expect to owe at least $500 for 2021, after you subtract withholding or credits you may have, or face penalties. […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2021-08-25T20:12:59+00:00August 25th, 2021|CA tax, california, disaster, estimated tax payments, fire, Fire Relief Info|0 Comments

IRS Provides Tax Relief For Victims Of California Wildfires; Oct. 15 Deadline, Other Dates Extended To Dec. 15

Victims of the California wildfires that began Aug. 14 now have until Dec. 15, 2020 to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced today.

The IRS is offering this relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as qualifying for individual assistance. Currently this includes Lake, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties in California, but taxpayers in localities added later to the disaster area will automatically receive the same filing and payment relief. The current list of eligible localities is always available on the disaster relief page on IRS.gov.

The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on Aug. 14, 2020. As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until Dec. 15, 2020, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period. This means individuals who had a valid extension to file their 2019 return due to run out on Oct. 15, 2020, will now have […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:02:01+00:00August 25th, 2020|Blog, business, fire, individuals, irs, New Tax Laws, tax deadlines|0 Comments