The St. Louis region was hit with major storms on July 25th through the 28th, resulting in severe flooding across St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County. On August 8th, President Biden approved Governor Parson’s request for a major disaster declaration for Missouri in response to the flooding.
What does this mean for you? The declaration makes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s individual assistance program available to eligible residents. This allows residents to seek federal assistance with temporary housing, repairs, replacement of damaged belongings, vehicles, and other qualifying expenses as a result of the storms.
If you were a victim of the storm, you can apply for assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling FEMA’s toll-free application line at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). The deadline for most individual programs is 60 days following the declaration. The Disaster will generally fall into the following categories: housing assistance, disaster grants, low-interest disaster loans, or other disaster aid programs.
How does this affect your 2021 or 2022 tax return? If you were a victim of the storms, you now have until November 15th to file your 2021 individual or business returns, or any payroll/ excise tax forms normally due on August 1st or October 31st. You can also make your 3rd Quarter estimate payment by November 15th.
Individuals and businesses in the federally declared disaster areas who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can also claim them on their 2021 or 2022 tax returns. If you were affected by the storms and have expenses above and beyond what you were reimbursed, please keep track of your receipts and HKA will help you claim them on your return for 2022. If you would like to learn more or have further questions on how this could apply to you, please give us a call at (314) 993-4285 or e-mail to office@hkaglobal.com.
