Disaster Recovery for Economies, Local Individuals, Employers, and Families Act of 2020 or the Disaster RELIEF Act
This bill provides tax relief measures for individual and business taxpayers in qualified disaster areas during a specified period, other than areas for which a disaster has been declared solely by reason of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
Specifically, the bill provides employers in a disaster area a tax credit designed to retain employees by allowing a credit for 40% of their employee wages, not exceeding $6,000 for each employee. It also allows an enhanced tax deduction for personal casualty losses incurred in a disaster area.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8314 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8314
To provide with respect to recent disasters an employee retention
credit for employers affected by such disasters and rules for disaster-
related personal casualty losses.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 18, 2020
Ms. Finkenauer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Small
Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide with respect to recent disasters an employee retention
credit for employers affected by such disasters and rules for disaster-
related personal casualty losses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Disaster Recovery for Economies,
Local Individuals, Employers, and Families Act of 2020'' or the
``Disaster RELIEF Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act--
(1) Qualified disaster area.--
(A) In general.--The term ``qualified disaster
area'' means any area with respect to which a major
disaster was declared, during the period beginning on
December 28, 2019, and ending on the date which is 60
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, by
the President under section 401 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
if the incident period of the disaster with respect to
which such declaration is made begins on or before the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(B) COVID-19 exception.--Such term shall not
include any area with respect to which such a major
disaster has been so declared only by reason of COVID-
19.
(2) Qualified disaster zone.--The term ``qualified disaster
zone'' means that portion of any qualified disaster area which
was determined by the President, during the period beginning on
December 28, 2019, and ending on the date which is 60 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, to warrant
individual or individual and public assistance from the Federal
Government under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act by reason of the qualified disaster
with respect to such disaster area.
(3) Qualified disaster.--The term ``qualified disaster''
means, with respect to any qualified disaster area, the
disaster by reason of which a major disaster was declared with
respect to such area.
(4) Incident period.--The term ``incident period'' means,
with respect to any qualified disaster, the period specified by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the period during
which such disaster occurred (except that for purposes of this
Act such period shall not be treated as beginning before
December 28, 2019, or ending after the date which is 30 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act).
SEC. 3. EMPLOYEE RETENTION CREDIT FOR EMPLOYERS AFFECTED BY QUALIFIED
DISASTERS.
(a) In General.--For purposes of section 38 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, in the case of an eligible employer, the 2020 qualified
disaster employee retention credit shall be treated as a credit listed
at the end of subsection (b) of such section. For purposes of this
subsection, the 2020 qualified disaster employee retention credit for
any taxable year is an amount equal to 40 percent of the qualified
wages with respect to each eligible employee of such employer for such
taxable year. The amount of qualified wages with respect to any
employee which may be taken into account under this subsection by the
employer for any taxable year shall not exceed $6,000 (reduced by the
amount of qualified wages with respect to such employee which may be so
taken into account for any prior taxable year).
(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
(1) Eligible employer.--The term ``eligible employer''
means any employer--
(A) which conducted an active trade or business in
a qualified disaster zone at any time during the
incident period of the qualified disaster with respect
to such qualified disaster zone, and
(B) with respect to whom the trade or business
described in subparagraph (A) is inoperable at any time
during the period beginning on the first day of the
incident period of such qualified disaster and ending
on the date of the enactment of this Act, as a result
of damage sustained by reason of such qualified
disaster.
(2) Eligible employee.--The term ``eligible employee''
means with respect to an eligible employer an employee whose
principal place of employment with such eligible employer
(determined immediately before the qualified disaster referred
to in paragraph (1)) was in the qualified disaster zone
referred to in such paragraph.
(3) Qualified wages.--The term ``qualified wages'' means
wages (as defined in section 51(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, but without regard to section 3306(b)(2)(B) of
such Code) paid or incurred by an eligible employer with
respect to an eligible employee at any time on or after the
date on which the trade or business described in paragraph (1)
first became inoperable at the principal place of employment of
the employee (determined immediately before the qualified
disaster referred to in such paragraph) and before the earlier
of--
(A) the date on which such trade or business has
resumed significant operations at such principal place
of employment, or
(B) the date which 150 days after the last day of
the incident period of the qualified disaster referred
to in paragraph (1).
Such term shall include wages paid without regard to whether
the employee performs no services, performs services at a
different place of employment than such principal place of
employment, or performs services at such principal place of
employment before significant operations have resumed. Such
term shall not include any wages taken into account under
section 2301 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security Act.
(c) Special Rules.--
(1) Employee not taken into account more than once.--An
employee shall not be treated as an eligible employee for
purposes of this subsection for any period with respect to any
employer if such employer is allowed a credit under section 51
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to such
employee for such period.
(2) Denial of double benefit.--Any wages taken into account
in determining the credit allowed under this section shall not
be taken into account as wages for purposes of sections 41,
45A, 45P, 45S, 51, and 1396 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986.
(3) Certain other rules to apply.--For purposes of this
subsection, rules similar to the rules of sections 51(i)(1),
52, and 280C(a), of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, shall
apply.
(d) Election To Not Take Certain Wages Into Account.--
(1) In general.--This section shall not apply to qualified
wages paid by an eligible employer with respect to which such
employer makes an election (at such time and in such manner as
the Secretary may prescribe) to have this section not apply to
such wages.
(2) Coordination with paycheck protection program.--The
Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Small
Business Administration, shall issue guidance providing that
payroll costs paid or incurred during the covered period shall
not fail to be treated as qualified wages under this section by
reason of an election under paragraph (1) to the extent that a
covered loan of the eligible employer is not forgiven by reason
of a decision under section 1106(g) of the CARES Act. Terms
used in the preceding sentence which are also used in section
1106 of such Act shall have the same meaning as when used in
such section.
(e) Amendment to Paycheck Protection Program.--Section 1106(a)(8)
of the CARES Act is amended by inserting ``, except that such costs
shall not include qualified wages taken into account in determining the
credit allowed under section 4 of the Disaster RELIEF Act'' before the
period at the end.
SEC. 4. SPECIAL RULES FOR QUALIFIED DISASTER-RELATED PERSONAL CASUALTY
LOSSES.
(a) In General.--If an individual has a net disaster loss for any
taxable year--
(1) the amount determined under section 165(h)(2)(A)(ii) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be equal to the sum
of--
(A) such net disaster loss, and
(B) so much of the excess referred to in the matter
preceding clause (i) of section 165(h)(2)(A) of such
Code (reduced by the amount in subparagraph (A) of this
paragraph) as exceeds 10 percent of the adjusted gross
income of the individual,
(2) in the case of qualified disaster-related personal
casualty losses, section 165(h)(1) of such Code shall be
applied to by substituting ``$500'' for ``$500 ($100 for
taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009)'',
(3) the standard deduction determined under section 63(c)
of such Code shall be increased by the net disaster loss, and
(4) section 56(b)(1)(E) of such Code shall not apply to so
much of the standard deduction as is attributable to the
increase under paragraph (3) of this paragraph.
(b) Net Disaster Loss.--For purposes of this section, the term
``net disaster loss'' means the excess of qualified disaster-related
personal casualty losses over personal casualty gains (as defined in
section 165(h)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).
(c) Qualified Disaster-Related Personal Casualty Losses.--For
purposes of this section, the term ``qualified disaster-related
personal casualty losses'' means losses described in section 165(c)(3)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which arise in a qualified
disaster area on or after the first day of the incident period of the
qualified disaster to which such area relates, and which are
attributable to such qualified disaster.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line