Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019

This bill allows various tax credits, tax deductions, and modifications to existing rules for individuals and businesses affected by federally declared disasters that occurred after December 31, 2018, and before April 15, 2019.

With respect to individuals and businesses in the affected areas, the bill

• waives the 10% additional tax on certain early distributions from retirement plans,
• permits individuals to recontribute funds to retirement plans if the funds were distributed for a home purchase that was cancelled on account of a disaster,
• increases the limit and extends the repayment deadline for loans from retirement plans,
• allows an employee retention tax credit for employers affected by disasters,
• temporarily increases the limitation on tax deductions for charitable contributions for relief efforts in disaster areas,
• modifies the rules for the deduction for personal casualty losses, and
• allows taxpayers residing in disaster areas to use earned income from the immediately preceding year for the purpose of determining earned income for the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit.