Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act becomes law

Executive summary

The Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act (H.R. 517; PL 119-29), which became law July 24, 2025, provides additional ways for federal tax deadlines to be postponed following natural disasters. This law ensures faster, broader, and more predictable relief for individuals and businesses impacted by natural disasters, even when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not issued a federal disaster declaration.

Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act officially signed into law on July 24, 2025

The Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act (H.R. 517; PL 119-29, “FRNDA”) became law on July 24, 2025. This legislation provides additional methods for federal tax filing and payment deadline postponements following natural disasters.

Previously, the IRS could postpone federal tax deadlines only in areas where a federal disaster declaration had been issued. This can sometimes come weeks after a disaster has occurred.

To hasten the issuance of federal tax postponement, this new legislation expands that authority, allowing deadline postponements even when a disaster is only declared at the state level by the governor (or the mayor in the case of the District of Columbia). This significant addition increases the flexibility of disaster relief efforts.

While this law provides federal tax relief, states do not automatically conform to federal postponements. Taxpayers must separately verify whether the applicable state tax authority has granted similar filing and payment postponements in response to a disaster.

Key details of the natural disaster legislation:

• State-level disaster declarations now qualify: Governors (or the mayor of D.C.) can now request that the IRS postpone deadlines for disasters recognized at the state level, even if not federally declared.

• Broader definition of disaster events: Qualified state declared disaster means any natural catastrophe (including hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, wind driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought) as determined by the governor of such state causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant the need to postpone tax deadlines.

• Longer relief periods: The mandatory postponement period for qualifying disaster-related tax deadlines has increased from 60 days to 120 days, giving affected taxpayers more time to file or pay taxes without penalty. Although the IRS generally provides postponement periods longer than the mandatory minimum, increasing those mandatory periods provides taxpayers with much appreciated breathing room.

• Nationwide application: This relief can apply in all U.S. states and territories, including the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Interaction with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and section 165

While the FRNDA stands on its own as a procedural enhancement to disaster-related tax relief, its practical impact is amplified by recent statutory changes enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Notably, OBBBA modifies section 165 to allow for “qualified disaster loss” treatment through date of enactment.

Under prior law, section 165(h) limited personal casualty loss deductions to federally declared disasters. The OBBBA revises this by allowing deductions for losses stemming from “state-declared disasters,” a term newly defined to include any natural catastrophe that a governor deems severe enough to warrant relief.

This change aligns directly with FRNDA’s core mechanism, which empowers state leaders to request IRS deadline postponements independently of FEMA declarations.

Together, these reforms create a dual-pathway framework: FRNDA enables faster procedural relief, while OBBBA ensures that such relief carries substantive tax benefits under section 165.

For tax professionals and advisors, this convergence of procedural and substantive reform demands careful coordination. The interplay between FRNDA’s triggering authority and OBBBA’s expanded deductibility provisions introduces new planning opportunities, particularly for clients operating in disaster-prone regions.

Takeaways: More predictable tax relief following natural disasters

This law ensures faster, broader, and more predictable relief for individuals and businesses impacted by natural disasters, even when FEMA has not issued a federal disaster declaration. It empowers state leaders to act swiftly and allows the IRS to provide timely assistance to those in need.

For taxpayers that operate in disaster-prone regions, this change could offer critical filing relief when it's needed most. Taxpayers are encouraged to contact their tax advisor to discuss relief options if they have been impacted by a natural disaster.