Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis joins Fox & Friends to discuss the local insurance crisis as residents flee Hurricane Milton.
Tens of millions of Americans living in federal disaster areas are eligible for some relief on their taxes in the form of delayed filing, and victims can take a deduction for their 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 the states more time.
An aerial view of the 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 after a powerful typhoon hit the area. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images / Getty Images)
However, the extension is for people in zip codes officially designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as federal disaster areas.
For Helene, that includes all of the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as several states 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 extension.
An aerial view 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 rebate on their property taxes. Under the property tax exemption, Florida signed into law following Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022, homeowners can get a refund divided by their value. property taxes if the residence is made uninhabitable for at least 30 days by some of the deadly storms.
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Under federal law, victims who live in federally designated disaster areas are also able to deduct losses not covered by insurance — but the details are complicated, as the Wall Street Journal points out.
A Roys restaurant worker sifts through debris from the destroyed restaurant after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Steinhatchee, Florida, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Michael Shaff, an attorney with the Foundation Law Group, emphasized to FOX Business that victims must live in a state-declared state in order to claim a deduction for lost expenses, and that individuals and businesses only have two years to do so.
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Shaff warned, “Whatever type of recovery you get — whether it’s from the government or an insurance company — you have to keep an eye on how long you have to pay back your position, and what you can change.”
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