# 118-hr-5863: Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023

118-hr-5863, Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023, is a 118th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] (R-FL); status became_law; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-01-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/118-hr-5863
- As of: 2026-01-04
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 118-hr-5863
- Congress: 118
- Title: Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023
- Status: became_law
- Introduced: 2023-10-02
- Sponsor: Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] (R-FL)
- Cosponsors: 35
- Policy area: Taxation
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-01-04

## Summary

**Tax relief for wildfire and East Palestine disaster victims.** This law excludes certain wildfire relief payments from taxable income, designates payments tied to the East Palestine train derailment as qualified disaster relief, and updates casualty-loss cross-references so the 2023 act controls those cross-referenced rules. - Families and wildfire victims: Wildfire relief payments for losses, expenses, or damages from federally declared wildfires after December 31, 2014 are excluded from gross income for payments received in tax years beginning after December 31, 2019 and before January 1, 2026. The law prevents deductions or increases in property basis for amounts that are excluded. - East Palestine residents and property owners: Payments tied to the February 3, 2023 East Palestine train derailment qualify as disaster relief when provided by federal, state, or local governments, Norfolk Southern, its subsidiaries, insurers, or related parties. The designation covers amounts received on or after February 3, 2023. - Tax treatment and claims: The act changes cross-references so casualty-loss rules under the 2020 Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act apply using the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 as the controlling reference. It also extends the refund or credit claim period tied to the wildfire exclusion so the limitation under section 6511(a) does not expire earlier than one year after enactment and removes the limitation in section 6511(b)(2).

## Cosponsors (35)

- Rep. LaMalfa, Doug [R-CA-1] (R-CA), 2023-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4] (D-CA), 2023-11-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Bill [R-OH-6] (R-OH), 2023-11-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Diaz-Balart, Mario [R-FL-26] (R-FL), 2023-11-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Donalds, Byron [R-FL-19] (R-FL), 2023-11-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] (D-CA), 2023-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1] (D-OR), 2023-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5] (D-MN), 2023-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4] (R-WA), 2023-11-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moran, Nathaniel [R-TX-1] (R-TX), 2023-11-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Franklin, Scott [R-FL-18] (R-FL), 2023-11-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Barr, Andy [R-KY-6] (R-KY), 2023-11-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bice, Stephanie I. [R-OK-5] (R-OK), 2023-11-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kelly, Mike [R-PA-16] (R-PA), 2023-11-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2] (D-HI), 2023-11-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rouzer, David [R-NC-7] (R-NC), 2023-11-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Waltz, Michael [R-FL-6] (R-FL), 2023-11-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3] (D-KS), 2023-11-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kiley, Kevin [I-CA-3] (I-CA), 2023-11-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bucshon, Larry [R-IN-8] (R-IN), 2023-11-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-9] (D-CA), 2023-11-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21] (D-CA), 2023-11-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hageman, Harriet M. [R-WY-At Large] (R-WY), 2023-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Caraveo, Yadira [D-CO-8] (D-CO), 2023-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] (D-CO), 2023-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1] (D-HI), 2023-11-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA), 2023-11-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Porter, Katie [D-CA-47] (D-CA), 2023-11-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Miller, Carol D. [R-WV-1] (R-WV), 2023-11-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Armstrong, Kelly [R-ND-At Large] (R-ND), 2023-11-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rutherford, John H. [R-FL-5] (R-FL), 2023-11-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11] (R-TX), 2023-12-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Courtney, Joe [D-CT-2] (D-CT), 2023-12-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10] (D-NY), 2023-12-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1] (D-NM), 2023-12-12T00:00:00.000Z

## Votes

| Date | Chamber | Question | Result | Yea | Nay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2024-05-21T04:00:00.000Z | house | On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended | Passed | 382 | 7 |

## Provisions PRIA read

- Tax-free East Palestine payments: benefit, high. You can exclude from income payments you get because of the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment on February 3, 2023. This includes payments for loss, damage, expenses, lower property value, closing costs (including realtor fees), or inconvenience. Payments must come from a government agency, Norf…
- Tax-free wildfire relief payments: benefit, high. You can exclude from income payments you get for losses or extra living costs from a federally declared forest or range fire. The disaster must be declared after December 31, 2014. This tax-free rule applies to payments in taxable years starting after December 31, 2019 and before January 1, 2026. I…
- Clearer tax rules for disaster losses: benefit, low. The law updates cross-references so disaster-related personal casualty loss rules point to this 2023 law. This clarifies how you claim losses under the earlier 2020 disaster framework. The change applies upon enactment.

## Related bills

- 118-hr-5009: Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025
- 118-hres-771: Standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists.
- 118-hres-768: Standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists.
- 118-hr-1015: Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 118-hr-2407: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 118-hr-1097: Everett Alvarez, Jr. Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2023

## Sources
- [118-hr-5863 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5863)

## Related
- [118-hr-5009: Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Ac…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/118-hr-5009)
- [118-hres-771: Standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/118-hres-771)
- [118-hres-768: Standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/118-hres-768)
- [118-hr-1015: Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/118-hr-1015)
- [118-hr-2407: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/118-hr-2407)
- [118-hr-1097: Everett Alvarez, Jr. Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2023](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/118-hr-1097)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/118-hr-5863 (as of 2026-01-04).