Rep. Tokuda joins effort urging US Senate to act on natural disaster tax relief

US Rep. Jill Tokuda (HI-02) joined Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA), Greg Steube (R-FL), and 76 other House members on Thursday in sending a letter to Senate leadership urging them to promptly bring the bipartisan Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 (H.R. 5863) to the floor for a vote. 

Cosponsored by Tokuda, the bill would exempt wildfire disaster relief payments received between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2025, from taxable income. In May 2024, the House passed the bill, which also includes language from Tokuda’s Natural Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 to make it easier for Maui fire victims to deduct disaster-related losses by eliminating the minimum 10 percent loss threshold and the requirement to itemize deductions to receive this tax benefit. 

“As we pass the one-year anniversary of the devastating Maui wildfires, too many members of our community continue to struggle with the costs of recovery, said Tokuda. “This bill will ensure that the payments and money meant to help disaster victims stay in their pockets and provide financial support for what we know will be a long recovery. I urge the Senate to quickly act on this important legislation.”

Tokuda has given remarks on the House floor in favor of the bill’s passage and continues her advocacy to pass tax relief for disaster survivors. 

This letter follows the recent failure by the Senate to pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, which also included parts of Tokuda’s disaster tax relief bill passed the House floor in January. 

The letter to Senate leadership can be viewed here.