I 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 140 

To provide tax relief for damages relating to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2025 

Mr. BUCHANAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To provide tax relief for damages relating to Hurricanes 

Helene and Milton. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Hurricane Helene and Milton Tax Relief Act of 2025’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Earned income credit determined based on preceding taxable year income with respect to qualified hurricane disaster areas. 

Sec. 4. Increased limitation on charitable contributions for qualified hurricane 

disaster relief; certain contributions paid before April 15, 2025, 

treated as paid in 2024. 

Sec. 5. Special hurricane disaster-related rules for use of retirement funds. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 For purposes of this Act— 

3 (a) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible indi4 vidual’’ means an individual whose principal place of abode 

5 at any time during the incident period is located in the 

6 qualified hurricane disaster area and who has sustained 

7 an economic loss by reason of Hurricane Helene or Hurri8 cane Milton. 

9 (b) QUALIFIED HURRICANE DISASTER AREA.—The 

10 term ‘‘qualified hurricane disaster area’’ means an area 

11 with respect to which a major disaster has been declared 

12 by the President (before the date of the enactment of this 

13 Act) under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

14 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by reason of Hurri15 cane Helene or Hurricane Milton. 

16 (c) INCIDENT PERIOD.—The term ‘‘incident period’’ 

17 means the period beginning on September 28, 2024, and 

18 ending on November 2, 2024. 

19 SEC. 3. EARNED INCOME CREDIT DETERMINED BASED ON 

20 PRECEDING TAXABLE YEAR INCOME WITH 

21 RESPECT TO QUALIFIED HURRICANE DIS22 ASTER AREAS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible indi24 vidual, if the earned income of the taxpayer for the appli25 cable taxable year is less than the earned income of the 

26 taxpayer for the preceding taxable year, the credit allowed 


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1 under section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

2 for the applicable taxable year may, at the election of the 

3 taxpayer, be determined by substituting— 

4 (1) such earned income for the preceding tax5 able year, for 

6 (2) such earned income for the applicable tax7 able year. 

8 (b) APPLICABLE TAX YEAR.—For purposes of this 

9 section, the term ‘‘applicable taxable year’’ means any tax10 able year which includes any portion of the incident pe11 riod. 

12 (c) EARNED INCOME.—For purposes of this section, 

13 the term ‘‘earned income’’ has the meaning given such 

14 term under section 32(c) of such Code. 

15 (d) SPECIAL RULES.— 

16 (1) APPLICATION TO JOINT RETURNS.—For 

17 purposes of subsection (a), in the case of a joint re18 turn for an applicable taxable year— 

19 (A) such subsection shall apply if either 

20 spouse is an eligible individual, and 

21 (B) the earned income of the taxpayer for 

22 the preceding taxable year shall be the sum of 

23 the earned income of each spouse for such pre24 ceding taxable year. 


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1 (2) ERRORS TREATED AS MATHEMATICAL

2 ERROR.—For purposes of section 6213 of such 

3 Code, an incorrect use on a return of earned income 

4 pursuant to subsection (a) shall be treated as a 

5 mathematical or clerical error. 

6 (3) NO EFFECT ON DETERMINATION OF GROSS

7 INCOME, ETC.—Except as otherwise provided in this 

8 section, such Code shall be applied without regard to 

9 any substitution under subsection (a). 

10 (4) LIMITATION TO SINGLE TAXABLE YEAR.— 

11 No taxpayer may make an election under subsection 

12 (a) if such taxpayer (or in the case of a joint return, 

13 the taxpayer’s spouse) made such an election for any 

14 preceding taxable year. 

15 SEC. 4. INCREASED LIMITATION ON CHARITABLE CON16 TRIBUTIONS FOR QUALIFIED HURRICANE 

17 DISASTER RELIEF; CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS 

18 PAID BEFORE APRIL 15, 2025, TREATED AS 

19 PAID IN 2024. 

20 (a) QUALIFIED HURRICANE DISASTER CONTRIBU21 TIONS.— 

22 (1) INDIVIDUALS.—In the case of any qualified 

23 hurricane disaster contribution, notwithstanding sec24 tion 170(b) of such Code, the total amount of such 

25 contributions which may be taken into account 


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1 under section 170(a) of such Code shall not exceed 

2 the excess of— 

3 (A) the taxpayer’s contribution base, over 

4 (B) the amount of all other charitable con5 tributions allowable under section 170(b)(1) of 

6 such Code. 

7 (2) CARRYOVER.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the aggregate 

9 amount of contributions described in paragraph 

10 (1) exceeds the limitation under such para11 graph, such excess shall be treated (in a man12 ner consistent with the rules of subsection 

13 170(d)(1) of such Code) as a charitable con14 tribution to which paragraph (1) applies in each 

15 of the 5 succeeding years in order of time. 

16 (B) COORDINATION WITH DEDUCTION FOR

17 CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.—For purposes 

18 of applying this paragraph and sections 

19 170(b)(1)(G) and 170(d)(1) of such Code, con20 tributions described in paragraph (1) shall not 

21 be treated as described in subparagraph (A) or 

22 (G) of section 170(b)(1) of such Code and such 

23 subparagraphs shall be applied without regard 

24 to such contributions. 


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1 (3) APPLICATION OF ELECTION TO PARTNER2 SHIPS AND S CORPORATIONS.—In the case of a part3 nership or S corporation, the election under sub4 section (e)(3)(A)(iii) shall be made separately by 

5 each partner or shareholder. 

6 (b) CORPORATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any qualified 

8 hurricane disaster contribution, notwithstanding sec9 tion 170(b) of such Code, the total amount of such 

10 contributions which may be taken into account 

11 under section 170(a) of such Code shall not exceed 

12 the excess of— 

13 (A) 20 percent of the taxpayer’s taxable 

14 income, over 

15 (B) the amount of charitable contributions 

16 allowed under section 170(b)(2)(A) of such 

17 Code. 

18 (2) CARRYOVER.—If the aggregate amount of 

19 contributions described in paragraph (1) exceeds the 

20 limitation under such paragraph, such excess shall 

21 be treated (in a manner consistent with the rules of 

22 section 170(d)(1) of such Code) as a charitable con23 tribution to which paragraph (1) applies in each of 

24 the 5 succeeding years in order of time. 


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1 (3) COORDINATION WITH DEDUCTION FOR

2 CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.—For purposes of ap3 plying this paragraph and sections 170(b)(2) of such 

4 Code, contributions described in paragraph (1) shall 

5 not be treated as described in subparagraph (A), 

6 (B), or (C) of section 170(b)(2) of such Code and 

7 such subparagraphs shall be applied without regard 

8 to such contributions. 

9 (c) DEDUCTION ALLOWED ABOVE THE LINE.—In 

10 the case of an individual— 

11 (1) the standard deduction otherwise deter12 mined under section 63 of such Code shall be in13 creased by so much of the deduction allowed under 

14 section 170 of such Code as would not be so allowed 

15 if determined without regard to this section, and 

16 (2) section 56(b)(1)(D) of such Code shall not 

17 apply to so much of the standard deduction as is at18 tributable to the increase under paragraph (1). 

19 (d) CONTRIBUTIONS TREATED AS MADE IN PRIOR

20 YEAR.—For purposes of this section, a taxpayer may treat 

21 any qualified hurricane disaster contribution which is paid 

22 after December 31, 2024, and on or before April 15, 2025, 

23 as if such contribution was made on December 31, 2024, 

24 and not in 2025. 

25 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 


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1 (1) CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION.—The term 

2 ‘‘charitable contribution’’ has the meaning given 

3 such term in section 170(c) of such Code. 

4 (2) CONTRIBUTION BASE.—The term ‘‘con5 tribution base’’ has the meaning given such term in 

6 section 170(b)(1)(H) of such Code. 

7 (3) QUALIFIED HURRICANE DISASTER CON8 TRIBUTION.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘qualified 

10 hurricane disaster contribution’’ means any 

11 charitable contribution if— 

12 (i) such contribution— 

13 (I) is paid on or after the first 

14 day of the incident period and before 

15 December 31, 2025, in cash to an or16 ganization described in section 

17 170(b)(1)(A) of such Code, and 

18 (II) is made for relief efforts in a 

19 qualified hurricane disaster area re20 lated to Hurricane Helene or Hurri21 cane Milton, 

22 (ii) the taxpayer obtains from such or23 ganization contemporaneous written ac24 knowledgment (within the meaning of sec25 tion 170(f)(8) of such Code) that such conVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H140.IH H140

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1 tribution was used (or is to be used) for 

2 relief efforts in a qualified hurricane dis3 aster area related to Hurricane Helene or 

4 Hurricane Milton, and 

5 (iii) the taxpayer has elected the ap6 plication of this section with respect to 

7 such contribution. 

8 (B) EXCEPTION.—A qualified hurricane 

9 disaster contribution shall not include a con10 tribution by a donor if the contribution is— 

11 (i) to an organization described in sec12 tion 509(a)(3) of such Code, or 

13 (ii) for establishment of a new, or 

14 maintenance of an existing, donor advised 

15 fund (as defined in section 4966(d)(2) of 

16 such Code). 

17 SEC. 5. SPECIAL HURRICANE DISASTER-RELATED RULES 

18 FOR USE OF RETIREMENT FUNDS. 

19 (a) TAX-FAVORED WITHDRAWALS FROM RETIRE20 MENT PLANS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 72(t) of the Internal 

22 Revenue Code of 1986 shall not apply to any quali23 fied hurricane disaster distribution. 

24 (2) AGGREGATE DOLLAR LIMITATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

2 subsection, the aggregate amount of distribu3 tions received by an individual which may be 

4 treated as qualified hurricane disaster distribu5 tions for any taxable year shall not exceed the 

6 excess (if any) of— 

7 (i) $100,000, over 

8 (ii) the aggregate amounts treated as 

9 qualified hurricane disaster distributions 

10 received by such individual for all prior 

11 taxable years. 

12 (B) TREATMENT OF PLAN DISTRIBU13 TIONS.—If a distribution to an individual would 

14 (without regard to subparagraph (A)) be a 

15 qualified hurricane disaster distribution, a plan 

16 shall not be treated as violating any require17 ment of such Code merely because the plan 

18 treats such distribution as a qualified hurricane 

19 disaster distribution, unless the aggregate 

20 amount of such distributions from all plans 

21 maintained by the employer (and any member 

22 of any controlled group which includes the em23 ployer) to such individual exceeds $100,000. 

24 (C) CONTROLLED GROUP.—For purposes 

25 of subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘controlled 


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1 group’’ means any group treated as a single 

2 employer under subsection (b), (c), (m), or (o) 

3 of section 414 of such Code. 

4 (3) AMOUNT DISTRIBUTED MAY BE REPAID.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any individual who re6 ceives a qualified hurricane disaster distribution 

7 may, at any time during the 3-year period be8 ginning on the day after the date on which such 

9 distribution was received, make 1 or more con10 tributions in an aggregate amount not to exceed 

11 the amount of such distribution to an eligible 

12 retirement plan of which such individual is a 

13 beneficiary and to which a rollover contribution 

14 of such distribution could be made under sec15 tion 402(c), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), 408(d)(3), or 

16 457(e)(16), of such Code, as the case may be. 

17 (B) TREATMENT OF REPAYMENTS OF DIS18 TRIBUTIONS FROM ELIGIBLE RETIREMENT

19 PLANS OTHER THAN IRAS.—For purposes of 

20 such Code, if a contribution is made pursuant 

21 to subparagraph (A) with respect to a qualified 

22 hurricane disaster distribution from an eligible 

23 retirement plan other than an individual retire24 ment plan, then the taxpayer shall, to the ex25 tent of the amount of the contribution, be treatVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:27 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H140.IH H140

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1 ed as having received the qualified hurricane 

2 disaster distribution in an eligible rollover dis3 tribution (as defined in section 402(c)(4) of 

4 such Code) and as having transferred the 

5 amount to the eligible retirement plan in a di6 rect trustee to trustee transfer within 60 days 

7 of the distribution. 

8 (C) TREATMENT OF REPAYMENTS OF DIS9 TRIBUTIONS FROM IRAS.—For purposes of such 

10 Code, if a contribution is made pursuant to 

11 subparagraph (A) with respect to a qualified 

12 hurricane disaster distribution from an indi13 vidual retirement plan (as defined by section 

14 7701(a)(37) of such Code), then, to the extent 

15 of the amount of the contribution, the qualified 

16 hurricane disaster distribution shall be treated 

17 as a distribution described in section 408(d)(3) 

18 of such Code and as having been transferred to 

19 the eligible retirement plan in a direct trustee 

20 to trustee transfer within 60 days of the dis21 tribution. 

22 (4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub23 section— 

24 (A) QUALIFIED HURRICANE DISASTER DIS25 TRIBUTION.—Except as provided in paragraph 


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1 (2), the term ‘‘qualified hurricane disaster dis2 tribution’’ means any distribution from an eligi3 ble retirement plan made— 

4 (i) on or after the first day of the in5 cident period and before December 31, 

6 2025, and 

7 (ii) to an eligible individual. 

8 (B) ELIGIBLE RETIREMENT PLAN.—The 

9 term ‘‘eligible retirement plan’’ shall have the 

10 meaning given such term by section 

11 402(c)(8)(B) of such Code. 

12 (5) INCOME INCLUSION SPREAD OVER 3-YEAR

13 PERIOD.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

15 qualified hurricane disaster distribution, unless 

16 the taxpayer elects not to have this paragraph 

17 apply for any taxable year, any amount re18 quired to be included in gross income for such 

19 taxable year shall be so included ratably over 

20 the 3-taxable-year period beginning with such 

21 taxable year. 

22 (B) SPECIAL RULE.—For purposes of sub23 paragraph (A), rules similar to the rules of sec24 tion 408A(d)(3)(E) of such Code shall apply. 

25 (6) SPECIAL RULES.— 


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1 (A) EXEMPTION OF DISTRIBUTIONS FROM

2 TRUSTEE TO TRUSTEE TRANSFER AND WITH3 HOLDING RULES.—For purposes of sections 

4 401(a)(31), 402(f), and 3405 of such Code, 

5 qualified hurricane disaster distributions shall 

6 not be treated as eligible rollover distributions. 

7 (B) QUALIFIED HURRICANE DISASTER DIS8 TRIBUTIONS TREATED AS MEETING PLAN DIS9 TRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of 

10 such Code, a qualified hurricane disaster dis11 tribution shall be treated as meeting the re12 quirements of sections 401(k)(2)(B)(i), 

13 403(b)(7)(A)(i), 403(b)(11), and 457(d)(1)(A) 

14 of such Code and section 8433(h)(1) of title 5, 

15 United States Code, and, in the case of a 

16 money purchase pension plan, a qualified hurri17 cane disaster distribution which is an in-service 

18 withdrawal shall be treated as meeting the dis19 tribution rules of section 401(a) of such Code. 

20 (b) RECONTRIBUTIONS OF WITHDRAWALS FOR

21 HOME PURCHASES.— 

22 (1) RECONTRIBUTIONS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any individual who re24 ceived a qualified distribution may, during the 

25 applicable period, make 1 or more contributions 


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1 in an aggregate amount not to exceed the 

2 amount of such qualified distribution to an eli3 gible retirement plan (as defined in section 

4 402(c)(8)(B) of such Code) of which such indi5 vidual is a beneficiary and to which a rollover 

6 contribution of such distribution could be made 

7 under section 402(c), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), or 

8 408(d)(3), of such Code, as the case may be. 

9 (B) TREATMENT OF REPAYMENTS.—Rules 

10 similar to the rules of subparagraphs (B) and 

11 (C) of subsection (a)(3) shall apply for purposes 

12 of this subsection. 

13 (2) QUALIFIED DISTRIBUTION.—For purposes 

14 of this subsection, the term ‘‘qualified distribution’’ 

15 means any distribution— 

16 (A) described in section 

17 401(k)(2)(B)(i)(IV), 403(b)(7)(A)(i)(V), 

18 403(b)(11)(B), or 72(t)(2)(F), of such Code, 

19 (B) which was to be used to purchase or 

20 construct a principal residence in a qualified 

21 hurricane disaster area, but which was not so 

22 used on account of Hurricane Helene or Hurri23 cane Milton, and 

24 (C) which was received during the period 

25 beginning on the date which is 180 days before 


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1 the first day of the incident period and ending 

2 on the date which is 30 days after the last day 

3 of such incident period. 

4 (3) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—For purposes of this 

5 subsection, the term ‘‘applicable period’’ means, in 

6 the case of a principal residence in a qualified hurri7 cane disaster area, the period beginning on the first 

8 day of the incident period and ending on December 

9 31, 2025. 

10 (c) LOANS FROM QUALIFIED PLANS.— 

11 (1) INCREASE IN LIMIT ON LOANS NOT TREAT12 ED AS DISTRIBUTIONS.—In the case of any loan 

13 from a qualified employer plan (as defined under 

14 section 72(p)(4) of such Code) to an eligible indi15 vidual made during the period beginning on the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act and ending on June 30, 

17 2025— 

18 (A) section 72(p)(2)(A)(i) of such Code 

19 shall be applied by substituting ‘‘ $100,000’’ for 

20 ‘‘ $50,000’’, and 

21 (B) clause (ii) of such section shall be ap22 plied by substituting ‘‘the present value of the 

23 nonforfeitable accrued benefit of the employee 

24 under the plan’’ for ‘‘one-half of the present 


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1 value of the nonforfeitable accrued benefit of 

2 the employee under the plan’’. 

3 (2) DELAY OF REPAYMENT.—In the case of an 

4 eligible individual with an outstanding loan (on or 

5 after the first day of the incident period) from a 

6 qualified employer plan (as defined in section 

7 72(p)(4) of such Code)— 

8 (A) if the due date pursuant to subpara9 graph (B) or (C) of section 72(p)(2) of such 

10 Code for any repayment with respect to such 

11 loan occurs during the period beginning on the 

12 first day of the incident period and ending on 

13 the date which is 180 days after the last day 

14 of such incident period, such due date shall be 

15 delayed for 1 year (or, if later, until December 

16 31, 2025), 

17 (B) any subsequent repayments with re18 spect to any such loan shall be appropriately 

19 adjusted to reflect the delay in the due date 

20 under subparagraph (A) and any interest accru21 ing during such delay, and 

22 (C) in determining the 5-year period and 

23 the term of a loan under subparagraph (B) or 

24 (C) of section 72(p)(2) of such Code, the period 


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1 described in subparagraph (A) of this para2 graph shall be disregarded. 

3 (d) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PLAN AMEND4 MENTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—If this subsection applies to 

6 any amendment to any plan or annuity contract, 

7 such plan or contract shall be treated as being oper8 ated in accordance with the terms of the plan during 

9 the period described in paragraph (2)(B)(i). 

10 (2) AMENDMENTS TO WHICH SUBSECTION AP11 PLIES.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—This subsection shall 

13 apply to any amendment to any plan or annuity 

14 contract which is made— 

15 (i) pursuant to any provision of this 

16 section, or pursuant to any regulation 

17 issued by the Secretary or the Secretary of 

18 Labor under any provision of this section, 

19 and 

20 (ii) on or before the last day of the 

21 first plan year beginning on or after Janu22 ary 1, 2025, or such later date as the Sec23 retary may prescribe. 

24 In the case of a governmental plan (as defined 

25 in section 414(d) of such Code), clause (ii) shall 


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1 be applied by substituting the date which is 2 

2 years after the date otherwise applied under 

3 clause (ii). 

4 (B) CONDITIONS.—This subsection shall 

5 not apply to any amendment unless— 

6 (i) during the period— 

7 (I) beginning on the date that 

8 this section or the regulation de9 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i) takes 

10 effect (or in the case of a plan or con11 tract amendment not required by this 

12 section or such regulation, the effec13 tive date specified by the plan), and 

14 (II) ending on the date described 

15 in subparagraph (A)(ii) (or, if earlier, 

16 the date the plan or contract amend17 ment is adopted), 

18 the plan or contract is operated as if such plan 

19 or contract amendment were in effect, and 

20 (ii) such plan or contract amendment 

21 applies retroactively for such period. 

Æ 


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