Sponsored by:
Senator KEVIN J. O'TOOLE
District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Allows Hurricane Sandy victims to claim gross income tax deduction for certain personal casualty losses.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act allowing Hurricane Sandy victims to claim a gross income tax deduction for certain personal casualty losses, supplementing Title 54A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A taxpayer shall be allowed to deduct from gross income an amount equal to the taxpayer's total Hurricane Sandy personal casualty losses in excess of $100.
b. For each item of damaged property the amount of a taxpayer's Hurricane Sandy personal casualty loss is the lesser of:
(1) the difference between an item of property's fair market value before Hurricane Sandy imposed damage and the item of property's fair market value after absorbing Hurricane Sandy imposed damage; or
(2) an item of property's adjusted basis.
c. Hurricane Sandy personal casualty losses shall be deemed as having occurred in the taxable year for which the deduction allowed pursuant to this section is claimed, except that no deduction may be claimed pursuant to this section for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016.
d. As used in this section:
"Hurricane Sandy personal casualty loss" means an unreimbursed loss from property damage to nonbusiness use property in New Jersey that was caused by the conditions associated with the State of Emergency identified in the Governor's Executive Order 104, dated October 27, 2012, concerning Hurricane Sandy.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill allows Hurricane Sandy victims to claim a gross income tax deduction for certain personal casualty losses. The purpose of this bill is to give Hurricane Sandy victims gross income tax relief by reducing the measure of their taxable income to reflect personal property losses inflicted by the storm.
The bill's deduction is allowed for unreimbursed property damage that was inflicted by Hurricane Sandy to nonbusiness use property located in New Jersey. The bill's deduction covers the portion of a taxpayer's cumulative losses in excess of $100. The bill provides that the amount of loss per item of property is the lesser of: (i) the reduction to an item of property's fair market value due to storm damage; or (ii) the property's adjusted tax basis.
The bill allows taxpayers to claim the deduction for Hurricane Sandy personal casualty losses until taxable year 2016.