If your home or personal property has been damaged by a natural disaster, new legislation may offer meaningful tax relief. The Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act, signed in September 2026, builds on earlier reforms to expand and extend the personal casualty loss deduction for victims of certain federally declared disasters. Key changes include the temporary removal of the 10% adjusted gross income floor and the itemizing requirement, two barriers that previously blocked many taxpayers from claiming any deduction at all. Additionally, eligible recipients of qualified wildfire relief payments may now exclude those payments from their taxable income, even if the funds arrive years after the disaster occurred. If you have suffered an unreimbursed disaster loss, these changes may significantly affect your tax situation.

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