Manatee Review

Congressman Vern Buchanan, Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has introduced a new legislative proposal aimed at providing tax relief to individuals affected by Hurricanes Milton and Helene. The Hurricane Milton and Helene Tax Relief Act seeks to offer financial assistance to those impacted by the recent hurricanes that struck Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.

Buchanan emphasized the need for federal support in recovery efforts: “Our constituents deserve the full support of the federal government as they work to recover and rebuild from these two devastating hurricanes which hit within two weeks of one another.” He highlighted that many people incurred significant disaster-related expenses, with some losing everything. The proposed legislation aims to alleviate these burdens by offering commonsense solutions.

The bill is cosponsored by several members of Congress, including Reps. Drew Ferguson, Greg Steube, Grey Murphy, Gus Bilirakis, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Neil Dunn, Scott Franklin, Laurel Lee, Anna Paulina Luna, and Daniel Webster. Rep. Steube expressed his support for the act: “Floridians take on disaster recovery and rebuilding expenses through no fault of their own. That’s why I’ve worked to deliver tax relief since Hurricane Ian with my House-passed Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act.”

Key provisions in Buchanan's proposal include raising the charitable donation cap from 60 percent to 100 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI) for hurricane relief donations. It also allows individuals eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to use their 2023 income when filing for 2024 if their income was adversely affected by the storms.

For those withdrawing retirement savings due to disaster-related expenses, the bill increases penalty-free withdrawal limits from $22,000 annually to $100,000 over tax years 2024 and 2025. Additionally, it eliminates the requirement that victims subtract 10 percent of their AGI from total casualty losses when calculating financial impacts.

Some provisions in this legislation have been included in past disaster tax relief bills like the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005.

Buchanan has actively supported recovery efforts following these storms. In October 2024 he led a bipartisan letter urging President Biden to approve Governor DeSantis’ request for an Expedited Major Disaster Declaration after Hurricane Milton. He had previously supported similar requests regarding Hurricane Helene.