National Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2015
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
National Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2015
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide tax relief for disasters declared in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 by:
allowing an election to expense qualified disaster expenses (i.e., for the abatement of hazardous substances, removal of debris, demolition, and repair of business-related property);
increasing the tax deduction for charitable contributions for disaster relief for individual and corporate taxpayers;
allowing through 2015 the deduction of losses and net operating losses attributable to disasters;
allowing waivers of requirements relating to mortgage revenue bonds;
extending through 2015 the additional allowance for depreciation of business property (bonus depreciation);
allowing an increase through 2015 of the new markets tax credit limitation amount within a federally-declared disaster area;
permitting the use of tax-exempt retirement plan funds in federally-declared disasters without penalty;
allowing an additional tax exemption for individuals who are displaced as a result of a federally-declared disaster;
allowing an exclusion from gross income of imputed income from the cancellation of indebtedness resulting from federally-declared disasters;
providing a special rule to allow individuals affected by a disaster in 2012, 2013, 2014, or 2015 to claim a full earned income tax credit;
increasing the rehabilitation tax credit for buildings affected by a federally-declared disaster;
permitting one additional advance refunding of a tax-exempt bond that is outstanding on the date on which a federally-declared disaster occurs;
allowing the issuance of qualified disaster area recovery bonds;
allowing an additional allocation of the low-income housing tax credit in 2016 to states affected by a federally-declared disaster occurring in 2012, 2013, 2014, or 2015;
allowing payments of disaster assistance to tax-exempt mutual ditch or irrigation companies without affecting their tax-exempt status;
allowing an exclusion from gross income for disaster mitigation payments received from state and local governments;
allowing a tax deduction for payments to a tax-exempt natural disaster fund;
allowing a five-year replacement period for property located in a disaster area for purposes of the exclusion of gain from an involuntary conversion;
The summary continues for 2 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 16, 2015. 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 July 16, 2015: 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 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 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?
David Vitter (R-LA) introduced it on July 16, 2015, and 11 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 8 Democrats, 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 July 16, 2015, 4074 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4074 days ago, on July 16, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 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