LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Tax Relief Deadline Extended for Fire Victims

An important tax relief deadline for victims of last fall’s wildfires has been extended, an official with the California Society of Enrolled Agents said this week.

Legislation signed March 30 by Gov. Pete Wilson gives taxpayers who suffered losses in the Southern California fires until Oct. 15 to decide whether to claim losses on their state income tax returns for 1993--the year of the loss--or on amended 1992 state returns.

The deadline for that choice was April 15 until Wilson signed Senate Bill 1234. The federal deadline remains April 15.

“Deciding which year to claim fire losses can make a difference of thousands of dollars to some taxpayers,” said Cap Porterfield, who chairs CSEA’s Public Disaster Service Committee.

For example, he said, those who lost their business or place of employment to the fires may have suffered a significant reduction of income in 1993 compared to 1992. In some cases it may be a major tax advantage to claim disaster losses in the year of higher income, Porterfield said.

California does not require paperwork requesting an extension unless a taxpayer expects to have a balance due on the return.