There is some relief for Louisiana residents that can qualify for flood rebate dollars by re-filing your 2016 tax returns. Basically if you lost more than 500 dollars that wasn’t covered by insurance or government grants you can deduct the difference from your 2016 income tax return.

Brandon Lagarde is the tax director at postlethwaite and Netterville in Baton Rouge. “What they did in this most recent bill is if my adjusted gross income was six thousand dollars I wouldn’t be able to claim my first five thousand dollars of causality losses in 2016, I now can,” says Lagarde.

A key issue in this benefit is taxpayers did at the time NOT have to itemize their return to make the adjustment.

“They also allow you under the new rule, to claim the loss in addition to your standard deduction so you didn’t have to itemize to get the Benefit of the loss,” added Lagarde.

Some residents could make significant adjustments to their tax returns for significant cash. Plus you have another year and a half before you must file.

“This is going to be free and clear of any other limitations,” says Lagarde. “So it’s really going to benefit people,”

Loans taken out to pay to repair your property are allowed deductions. The Congressional Budget office estimates 500 million dollars is available to pay back flood victims.

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