Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019
This bill allows various tax credits, tax deductions, and modifications to existing rules for individuals and businesses affected by federally declared disasters that occurred after December 31, 2018, and before April 15, 2019.
With respect to individuals and businesses in the affected areas, the bill
waives the 10% additional tax on certain early distributions from retirement plans,
permits individuals to recontribute funds to retirement plans if the funds were distributed for a home purchase that was cancelled on account of a disaster,
increases the limit and extends the repayment deadline for loans from retirement plans,
allows an employee retention tax credit for employers affected by disasters,
temporarily increases the limitation on tax deductions for charitable contributions for relief efforts in disaster areas,
modifies the rules for the deduction for personal casualty losses, and
allows taxpayers residing in disaster areas to use earned income from the immediately preceding year for the purpose of determining earned income for the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on April 10, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 10, 2019: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced it on April 10, 2019, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 3 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 10, 2019, 2710 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2710 days ago, on April 10, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers