Great News for 2016 Flood Victims

23 Mar Great News for 2016 Flood Victims

Flood Victims in Louisiana, listen up! The catastrophic flood that devastated Louisiana in 2016 was the worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Hurricane Sandy four years ago. Thousands of people in Louisiana lost everything. However, there is some great news for people that were affected by this horrible flood. All victims should dust off their old tax returns from that year to tap new deductions. There’s the potential to cash in on hundreds of millions of federal tax relief dollars for those who saw their homes, cars, and other property ruined by flood waters.

Due to a change passed by the Louisiana Legislature earlier this year, flood victims taking advantage of the newly available federal disaster tax relief won’t have to adjust their state returns or pay any more in state income tax. There is also more allotted time for these flood victims to file. The deadline is April 15th, 2020 where about $500 million in federal taxes paid by Louisiana flood victims in 2016 is up for grabs and will head back into residents’ pockets.

The easiest way for a homeowner to calculate the size of their losses is to add up how much they ended up paying out-of-pocket to fix their homes and replace what was destroyed. Flood insurance payouts and government grants count against that figure, but flood victims shouldn’t count the value of loans taken out to rebuild because eventually, those funds have to be paid back.

For those that are uninsured, the increased deductions could add up to thousands of dollars back from the federal government. Under revised rules, the IRS will refund the difference between what Louisiana taxpayers paid in 2016 and what they owe under the revised rules.

Here at AWS, we want to make sure those that have been through tough times get back on their feet. In Louisiana, anything can happen in an instant: especially during Hurricane Season. Let our experienced team of insurance agents in New Orleans be a light unto your path through any rough situation. You should never face a loss alone, and with AWS, you’ll be covered.