HR-4172 : Still Just a Bill

Give Assistance and Help to Americans impacted by Natural Disasters Act or the Give A HAND Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow various tax credits, deductions, and modifications to existing rules in areas impacted by disasters.

With respect to areas in which a federally declared disaster occurred, the bill allows:

• expensing of disaster expenses,
• increased charitable contribution limits and mileage rates,
• modifications to rules regarding deductions for losses,
• waivers of certain mortgage revenue bond requirements,
• increased expensing and bonus depreciation,
• an increased new markets tax credit allocation,
• penalty-free distributions from retirement plans,
• an additional exemption for providing housing to displaced individuals,
• an exclusion for cancellations of indebtedness,
• the use of the previous year's income for calculating the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit,
• an increased rehabilitation credit for buildings,
• additional advance refundings of certain tax-exempt bonds,
• disaster area recovery bonds,
• additional low-income housing credit allocations,
• an exclusion for disaster mitigation payments received from state and local governments,
• a deduction for payments to a tax-exempt natural disaster fund,
• a credit for a portion of the wages paid to employees,
• an exclusion for employer-provided housing,
• an enhanced deduction for medical expenses, and
• extensions for tax and Medicare filing deadlines.

The bill also modifies several deductions, credits, and other tax provisions that affect Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.