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Disaster Tax Credit May Apply if Your Business Sustained Damage During a Hurricane

Did your business become inoperable as a result of damage sustained during hurricanes Harvey, Irma, or Maria? If so, your business may be entitled to a tax credit for retaining employees during the recovery period as part of the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017 (HR 3823), which was signed into law September 29, 2017.

The tax credit may be up to $2,400 for any employee the business retains and pays wages to, until the business location resumes operations or January 1, 2018, whichever comes first.

Criteria

Eligible employees include those who are unable to perform services but continue to be paid wages or employees relocated to other locations in order to resume their work.  The credit is available as a one-time credit for each employee and can’t be used in conjunction with the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for the same employee.

There are no filing requirements for the credit, but businesses must maintain proof that the employees performed substantially all of their duties at the location up to the day the location became inoperable. 

Disaster Zones

The designated disaster zones from each hurricane include the following counties and municipalities.

Hurricane Harvey

Counties in Texas: Aransas, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Hardin, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Karnes, Kleberg, Lavaca, Lee, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Polk, Refugio, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Tyler, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Wharton

Hurricane Irma

Counties in Florida: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Union, Volusia

Counties in Georgia: Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Coffee, Glynn, Liberty, McIntosh

County-equivalents in the US Virgin Islands:  St. John (Island), St. Thomas (Island)

Hurricane Maria

Puerto Rico: All 78 municipalities

We’re Here to Help

For more information or for help determining if your locations and employees will qualify your business for the tax credit, contact your Moss Adams professional or email statetax@mossadams.com.

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