Proposal Expanding Disaster Relief to State Declared Disasters Introduced

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto along with several cosponsors has introduced S. 132, the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act. The legislation would expand disaster relief under IRC Section 7508A to state declared disasters. According to a press release, the bill would allow the governor of a state or territory to extend a federal tax filing deadline in the event of a state-declared emergency or disaster, which happens automatically for federally-declared disasters. Extending this authority to states gives them the ability to provide relief independent of the federal government’s involvement in an emergency or natural disaster. The legislation would also expand the mandatory federal filing extension from 60 days to 120 days.