By Thomas Gase
Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif.
(TNS)
April 29 — U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Florida Republican Greg Steube’s Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act, designed to provide tax relief for federal disaster victims, is headed to the Senate after passing the House by a voice vote earlier this week.
The bill would permit victims to claim disaster-related personal casualty losses without having to itemize deductions through Jan. 1.
H.R. 5366, originally introduced as the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2025 and later renamed in honor of LaMalfa, builds upon Thompson’s law by codifying and extending disaster tax relief provisions through Jan. 1. The bill allows individuals to deduct disaster-related losses more easily, including for those who do not itemize, and ensures wildfire relief payments are not treated as taxable income.
LaMalfa, a Republican congressman from California, died in January at the age of 65.
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“Californians are all too familiar with the devastation caused by wildfires. In the wake of losing their homes and livelihoods, it is wrong to tax survivors on settlement money that is meant to help them rebuild their lives. Survivors can’t afford to wait around for retroactive relief,” said Thompson, a Democrat from District 4, in a press release. “Our late colleague Doug LaMalfa knew this well. I was proud to work with him to pass tax relief for fire victims in our communities in 2024, and I am proud we passed this bill now to honor his work and to extend our tax relief so more victims can be compensated.”
Thompson, who serves as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Tax for the Ways and Means Committee, introduced the original legislation with LaMalfa in the House of Representatives to provide tax relief to PG&E fire victims in the 117th Congress and worked with Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and LaMalfa to advance the legislation.
Thompson and Steube led a bipartisan group of 218 Members of Congress in 2024 to successfully advance a discharge petition, which forced House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 to the House floor for a vote. The advancement of the petition marked only the third time a House discharge petition had succeeded in the 21st century. The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent and was signed into law by President Joe Biden in December 2024.
Photo caption: U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-CA (Office of Mike Thompson)
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© 2026 Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.). Visit www.timesheraldonline.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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