LINCOLN, Neb. — A handful of natural disasters this spring in Nebraska could lead to targeted tax forgiveness or property tax relief if a storm destroyed a taxpayer’s property.
State Tax Commissioner James Kamm announced Friday that he will waive penalties and interest on late tax returns or tax payments for those directly affected by the Arbor Day tornadoes in eastern Nebraska. Returns and payments were due April 25, but Kamm is pushing back the due dates for those forms to September 3.
An automatic waiver of penalties and interest will be granted to any taxpayer whose home or business is within 14 specific ZIP codes identified by the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency as having likely experienced significant damage, if they file and pay by August 3. of September.
“DOR recognizes the difficulties these catastrophic natural disasters present with respect to fiscal responsibilities and wants to assist those negatively affected, including those outside of the identified areas,” the Nebraska Department of Revenue wrote in a news release.
For affected taxpayers whose businesses or homes are located outside of NEMA-identified areas, additional relief may be available depending on specific circumstances.
In those cases, taxpayers must complete an Application for Penalty Reduction (Form 21) or an Application for Interest Reduction (Form 21A) explaining the impact of the storm on them and mail the form to the Department of Revenue.
Property tax relief may also be available to taxpayers whose property was destroyed by any “calamity” between January 1 and July 1, such as tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, fires or other disasters. Damage must exceed 20% of the property’s current assessed value as determined by the county assessor.
Destruction cannot include damage inflicted by the property owner. Crops and livestock are not counted.
Owners of destroyed real estate can request to have their property reassessed through a Form 425, which must be filed by July 15 with the assessor and county clerk. A separate form must be filed for each parcel of property that is destroyed.
State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, who pushed the destroyed property provisions in 2019, said the legislation is intended to reduce values to what is left standing after a disaster. He gave as an example a $1 million home reduced to $100,000 if that is the remaining value.
“That would stay that way until they redevelop the property, so if they don’t redevelop it by the 25th, there won’t be any taxes except the land tax,” Erdman told the Nebraska Examiner on Friday.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact editor Cate Folsom with questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.