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Andrea Kriznauski
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September 23, 2005

Congress Passes the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005

On September 21 the House and Senate passed the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005. The $6.1 billion measure provides tax relief for individuals and businesses affected by the hurricane and incentives to promote charitable donations for victims. President Bush has promised to sign the bill as soon as he receives it.

Highlights of the legislation include:

• Penalty-free withdrawals from IRAs and other qualified retirement plans
• Tax-free recontributions of withdrawals made for interrupted home purchases
• Expanded qualified plan loan limits
• Expansion of the work opportunity tax credit
• New employee retention credit
• Temporary suspension of individual and corporate limitations on charitable contributions and overall limitation on itemized deductions
• Increase in standard mileage rate for charitable use of vehicles and exclusion of mileage reimbursement to charitable volunteers
• Expanded deduction for contributions of food and book inventories
• Exclusions of certain hurricane related cancellations of indebtedness
• Suspension of limitations of deduction of casualty losses
• Additional exemptions for housing displaced individuals
• Election for individuals to calculate their earned income tax credit and refundable child tax credit for 2005 using 2004 earned income
• Temporary suspension of first-time homebuyer requirements to permit low-rate mortgages
• Extension of the replacement period required for nonrecognition of gain.

For complete information on the Katrina bill, click here.