Federal Disaster Loss Update

A new federal disaster bill, H.R. 1491, was signed into law on Friday, January 3, 2026. This bill, effective as of date of enactment, specifically extends the statute of limitations for taxpayers filing refund claims related to federal disaster losses. The general three year statute of limitations for refund claims is extended to be three years from any applicable tax postponement deadline. Disaster tax postponement deadlines will now be treated as income tax extensions for the purpose of expanding the three year statute of limitations for disaster refund claims. Based on the verbiage of the bill, other non-disaster tax issues addressed in an amended return will also be eligible for the expanded three year statute of limitations.

The bill also suspends certain IRS collection letters during a disaster postponement period.

It is notable that this latest federal disaster bill did not extend the dates for a Qualified Federal Disaster deduction which were last extended under OBBBA.

1IRS CE/1CTEC/1NASBA CPE/Texas CPE

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IRS Program #: 7Q3WU-U-00864-26
CTEC Course #: 6248-CE-00224