The Hurricane Katrina disaster area covers the area for which the President declared a major disaster before September 14, 2005, because of Hurricane Katrina. The Hurricane Katrina disaster area covers the entire states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

A portion of the Hurricane Katrina disaster area has been designated by the IRS as a covered disaster area. The Katrina covered disaster area covers the following areas in four states.

The GO Zone (also called the core disaster area) covers the portion of the Hurricane Katrina disaster area determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to be eligible for either individual only or both individual and public assistance from the Federal Government. The GO Zone covers the following areas in three states.

The Hurricane Rita disaster area (also designated by the IRS as the Rita covered disaster area) covers the area for which the President declared a major disaster before October 6, 2005, because of Hurricane Rita. This area covers the entire states of Louisiana and Texas.

The Rita GO Zone covers the portion of the Hurricane Rita disaster area determined by FEMA to be eligible for either individual only or both individual and public assistance from the Federal Government. The Rita GO Zone covers the following areas in two states.

The Hurricane Wilma disaster area covers the area for which the President declared a major disaster before November 14, 2005, because of Hurricane Wilma. The Hurricane Wilma disaster area covers the entire state of Florida.

A portion of the Hurricane Wilma disaster area has been designated by the IRS as a covered disaster area. The Wilma covered disaster area covers the following counties.

The Wilma GO Zone covers the portion of the Hurricane Wilma disaster area determined by FEMA to be eligible for either individual only or both individual and public assistance from the Federal Government. The Wilma GO Zone covers the following counties.

The following are special standard mileage rates in effect in 2005 and 2006 for the cost of operating your automobile for providing charitable services solely related to Hurricane Katrina.

You can exclude from income amounts you receive as mileage reimbursements for the use of a private passenger automobile for the benefit of a qualified charitable organization in providing relief related to Hurricane Katrina during the period beginning on August 25, 2005, and ending on December 31, 2006. You cannot claim a deduction or credit for amounts you receive as a mileage reimbursement. You must keep records of miles driven, time, place (or use), and purpose of the mileage. The amount you can exclude from income cannot exceed the standard business mileage rate (shown below) for expenses incurred during the following periods.

Any taxpayer engaged in a trade or business is eligible to claim a deduction for a contribution of “apparently wholesome food” inventory to a qualified charitable organization described in section 501(c)(3) (except for private nonoperating foundations) after August 27, 2005, and before January 1, 2006. “Apparently wholesome food” is food that meets all quality and labeling standards imposed by federal, state, and local laws and regulations even though the food may not be readily marketable due to appearance, age, freshness, grade, size, surplus, or other conditions.

The deduction is equal to the lesser of:

The taxpayer must receive written certification from the donee stating:

For a taxpayer other than a C corporation, the deduction is limited to 10% of the taxpayer's total net income from all trades or businesses from which the food contributions were made (figured without regard to the deduction for charitable contributions). For example, if a taxpayer is a sole proprietor, a shareholder in an S corporation, and a partner in a partnership, and each made a contribution of apparently wholesome food inventory, the taxpayer's deduction is limited to 10% of the taxpayer's total net income from the sole proprietorship, S corporation, and partnership (figured without regard to the deduction for charitable contributions).

A corporation (other than an S corporation) may be allowed a charitable deduction for a qualified book contribution made after August 27, 2005, and before January 1, 2006, to a public school that:

.

The deduction is equal to the lesser of:

The corporation must receive written certification from the school stating that the donated books are suitable for the organization's educational programs and will be used for such programs.

Qualified hurricane distributions are included in income in equal amounts over three years. However, if you elect, you can include the entire distribution in your income in the year it was received.

Qualified hurricane distributions are not subject to the additional 10% tax (or the additional 25% tax for certain distributions from SIMPLE IRAs) on early distributions from qualified retirement plans (including IRAs). However, any distributions you receive in excess of the $100,000 qualified hurricane distribution limit may be subject to the additional tax on early distributions.

For more information, see Form 8915.

If you choose, you generally can repay any portion of a qualified hurricane distribution that is eligible for tax-free rollover treatment to an eligible retirement plan. Also, you can repay a qualified hurricane distribution made on account of a hardship from a retirement plan. However, see Exceptions below for qualified hurricane distributions you cannot repay.

You have three years from the day after the date you received the distribution to make a repayment. Amounts that are repaid are treated as a qualified rollover and are not included in income. Also, for purposes of the one-rollover-per-year limitation for IRAs, a repayment to an IRA is not considered a qualified rollover. See Form 8915 for more information on how to report repayments.

If you received a qualified distribution to purchase or construct a main home in the Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma disaster area, you can repay that distribution before March 1, 2006, to an eligible retirement plan after August 24, 2005 (Katrina); after September 22, 2005 (Rita); or after October 22, 2005 (Wilma). For this purpose, an eligible retirement plan is any plan, annuity, or IRA to which a qualified rollover can be made.

To be a qualified distribution, the distribution must meet all of the following requirements.

Amounts that are repaid before March 1, 2006, are treated as a qualified rollover and are not included in income. Also, for purposes of the one-rollover-per-year limitation for IRAs, a repayment to an IRA is not considered a qualified rollover.

A qualified distribution not repaid before March 1, 2006, may be taxable for 2005 and subject to the additional 10% tax (or the additional 25% tax for certain SIMPLE IRAs) on early distributions.

You must file Form 8915 if you received a qualified distribution that you repaid, in whole or in part, before March 1, 2006.

The following benefits are available to qualified individuals.

You can elect to use your 2004 earned income to figure your earned income credit (EIC) and additional child tax credit for 2005 if:

You may be able to claim an additional exemption amount of $500 for providing housing in your main home for each individual displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The additional exemption amount is claimed on new Form 8914. The additional exemption amount is allowable once per taxpayer for a specific individual in 2005 or 2006, but not in both years. The maximum additional exemption amount you can claim for all displaced individuals is $2,000 ($1,000 if married filing separately). The additional exemption amount you claim for displaced individuals in 2005 will reduce the $2,000 maximum for 2006. If two or more taxpayers share the same main home, only one taxpayer in that main home can claim the additional exemption amount for a specific displaced individual. If married filing separately, only one spouse may claim the additional exemption amount for a specific displaced individual. In order for you to be considered to have provided housing, you must have a legal interest in the main home (that is, own or rent the home). To qualify as a displaced individual, the individual:

You cannot claim the additional exemption amount if you received rent (or any other amount) from any source for providing the housing. You are permitted to receive payments or reimbursements that do not relate to normal housing costs, including the following.

However, you cannot claim the additional exemption amount if you received any reimbursement for the extra costs of heat, electricity, or water used by the displaced individual.

Also, you must report on Form 8914 the displaced individual's social security number or individual taxpayer identification number to claim an additional exemption amount.

For more information, see Form 8914.

The education credits have been expanded for students attending an eligible educational institution located in the Gulf Opportunity Zone (GOZ students) for any tax year beginning in 2005 or 2006. The Hope credit for a GOZ student is increased to 100% of the first $2,000 in qualified education expenses and 50% of the next $2,000 of qualified education expenses for a maximum credit of $3,000 per student. The lifetime learning credit rate for a GOZ student is increased from 20% to 40%.

The definition of qualified education expenses for a GOZ student also has been expanded. In addition to tuition and fees required for the student's enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution, qualified education expenses for a GOZ student include the following.

You will need to contact the eligible educational institution for qualified room and board costs.

For more information, see Form 8863.

Generally, if you financed your home under a federally subsidized program (loans from tax-exempt qualified mortgage bonds or loans with mortgage credit certificates), you may have to recapture all or part of the benefit you received from that program when you sell or otherwise dispose of your home. However, you do not have to recapture any benefit if your mortgage loan was a qualified home improvement loan of not more than $15,000. This amount is increased to $150,000 if the loan was provided before 2011 and was used to:

Generally, discharges of nonbusiness debts (such as mortgages) made after August 24, 2005, and before January 1, 2007, are excluded from income for individuals whose main home was in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area on August 25, 2005. If the individual's main home was located outside the core disaster area, the individual also must have had an economic loss because of Hurricane Katrina. Examples of an economic loss include, but are not limited to:

This relief does not apply to any debt secured by real property located outside the Hurricane Katrina disaster area.

You may also have to reduce certain tax attributes by the amount excluded. For more information, see Form 982, Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment).

Under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, the IRS may adjust the internal revenue laws to ensure that taxpayers do not lose a deduction or credit or experience a change of filing status in 2005 or 2006 as a result of a temporary relocation caused by Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma. However, any such adjustment must ensure that an individual is not taken into account by more than one taxpayer for the same tax benefit. The IRS has exercised this authority as follows.

You can take a special depreciation allowance for qualified Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone property (as defined below) you place in service after August 27, 2005. The allowance is an additional deduction of 50% of the property's depreciable basis (after any section 179 deduction and before figuring your regular depreciation deduction). The special allowance applies only for the first year the property is placed in service.

The allowance is deductible for both the regular tax and the alternative minimum tax (AMT). There is no AMT adjustment required for any depreciation figured on the remaining basis of the property.

You can elect not to deduct the special GO Zone depreciation allowance for qualified property. If you make this election for any property, it applies to all property in the same class placed in service during the year.

An increased section 179 deduction is allowable for qualified section 179 Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone property (as defined later) placed in service in the GO Zone.

For the work opportunity credit, the definition of “targeted group employee” has been expanded to include a Hurricane Katrina employee.

An eligible employer who conducted an active trade or business in the Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone, the Rita GO Zone, or the Wilma GO Zone can claim the employee retention credit. The credit is 40% of qualified wages for each eligible employee (up to a maximum of $6,000 in qualified wages per employee). Generally, you must reduce your deduction for salaries and wages by the amount of this credit (before the tax liability limit). Use Form 5884-A to claim the credit. See the following rules and definitions for each hurricane.

An employer who conducted an active trade or business in the Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone can claim the Hurricane Katrina housing credit. The credit is equal to 30% of the value (up to $600 per month per employee) of in-kind lodging furnished to a qualified employee (and the employee's spouse or dependents) from January 1, 2006, through July 1, 2006. The value of the lodging is excluded from the income of the qualified employee but is treated as wages for purposes of taxes imposed under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA). Generally, you must reduce your deduction for salaries and wages by the amount of this credit (before the tax liability limit). The employer must use Form 5884-A to claim the credit.

A qualified employee is an individual who had a main home in the GO Zone on August 28, 2005, and who performs substantially all employment services in the GO Zone for the employer furnishing the lodging. The employee cannot be your dependent or a related individual. See section 51(i)(1).

For more information, see Form 5884-A.

You may be able to elect to deduct a limited amount of reforestation costs for each qualified timber property. The deduction for any tax year generally is limited to $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately, $0 for a trust). However, this limit is increased if you paid or incurred reforestation costs after the applicable date below and any portion of the qualified timber property is located in one of the following areas.

The limit for each qualified timber property is increased by the smaller of:

The increase in the limit applies only to costs paid or incurred before 2008.

However, these rules do not apply to any timber producer who:

For more information about the election to deduct reforestation costs, see chapter 8 in Publication 535, Business Expenses.

You can elect to deduct 50% of any qualified GO Zone clean-up costs for the tax year in which the costs are paid or incurred, instead of capitalizing them. Qualified GO Zone clean-up costs are any amounts paid or incurred after August 27, 2005, and before January 1, 2008, for the removal of debris from, or the demolition of structures on, real property located in the GO Zone that is:

The rehabilitation credit is increased for qualified rehabilitation expenditures paid or incurred after August 27, 2005, and before January 1, 2009, on buildings located in the GO Zone as follows.

For more information, see Form 3468, Investment Credit.