Disaster victims get full tax relief: refund rights protected when deadlines postponed
H.R. 1491 — Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act · Filed by Gregory Murphy (R-NC) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 21, 2025 · Signed
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What it does
This bill amends the tax code to ensure that when the IRS postpones tax deadlines due to disasters, those postponements also extend the time limit for taxpayers to claim refunds or credits (normally 3 years) and are factored into IRS collection notices. Currently, disaster deadline extensions don't automatically apply to refund claims or collection procedures, leaving taxpayers in disaster areas at risk of losing refund rights or facing collection action even though their filing deadline was extended.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a technical fix to the tax code ensuring that disaster-related deadline postponements apply consistently across refund claims and collection procedures. It is a narrow, remedial measure addressing an existing gap in disaster relief, not a broad policy change.
What the text implies
- Taxpayers in disaster areas may now recover refunds or credits they would have lost under the old 3-year limitation, potentially increasing IRS refund payouts in disaster years.
- The IRS must reprogram collection notice systems to account for postponed deadlines, adding administrative burden but improving compliance accuracy.
- The bill may reduce disputes between taxpayers and the IRS over whether collection action was premature when a disaster deadline extension was in effect.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Disaster-affected taxpayers gain concrete protection: they retain the right to claim refunds and credits even when the normal 3-year window would have closed, and the IRS must account for postponed deadlines before issuing collection notices. This closes a gap where disaster relief was incomplete, benefiting ordinary people in disaster zones without imposing costs on the general public.
Named in the bill
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Section 7508A (disaster deadline postponement), Section 6511 (refund/credit limitation period), Section 6303 (collection notices)
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Feb 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 21, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
- Feb 26, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Feb 26, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 44 - 0”
- Mar 31, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Smith (MO) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
- Apr 1, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required)…”
- Dec 11, 2025 — Passed both chambers · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8694; text: CR S8694)”
- Dec 18, 2025 — Sent to president · Congress.gov: “Presented to President”
- Dec 26, 2025 — Signed into law · Congress.gov: “Became Public Law No: 119-64”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $17,579,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 17 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Gregory Murphy, the sponsor, reported $1,068,698 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- National Association of Realtors — $14,580,000 on 1 filing
- Aicpa Association of International Certified Professional Accountants — $2,999,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,425 characters) on Jun 10, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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