Tracy’s Tax Tips: Disaster Survivor Assistance

Tax season is beginning, and our special series “Tracy’s Tax Tips” can help you through it. The IRS has special rules this year for people affected by Superstorm Sandy and other disasters.

FOX Business Network’s Tracy Byrnes reports in ‘Tracy’s Tax Tips’:

So many people are still suffering from aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. And Uncle Sam is trying to help too.
I’m Tracy Byrnes with the FOX Business Network here with Tracy’s Tax Tips.

Well, the IRS is offering special tax relief programs to individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy, as well as anyone affected but other disasters such as flooding, earthquakes, wildfires, and hurricanes. And depending on your situation, you may be eligible for additional time to file, additional time to pay your taxes or even quicker tax returns for losses related to those disasters.

For Sandy victims in particular, one of the biggest reliefs is that any storm victim who receives disaster assistance payments will not have to count them as taxable income when they file their 2012 personal income tax return this year. Now, this applies to any money they receive from an employer, other individuals or charitable organizations, as long as they can show that the funds were used to cover costs generated by storm-related losses.

I’m Tracy Byrnes, FOX News Radio.