I was in the 2020 Texas Winter Storm and have read that I qualify for a disaster relief claim on my taxes, how do I do that?

[Claude4]

LeonardS, please provided an authoritative reference for your comment that "you have to live in the area defined in the disaster declaration to claim a casualty loss."  I have seen several secondary sources make this comment, but when I go to IRS Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters and Thefts for use in preparing 2021 returns, page 3, I find this on-point quote: "Federal casualty loss.  A federal casualty loss is an individual's casualty or theft loss of personal-use property that is attributable to a federally declared disaster.  The casualty loss must occur in a state receiving a federal disaster declaration."  If the IRS wanted to limit deductibility of a disaster casualty loss to the area defined by the disaster, they would have said that.  Also, since thefts are typically not the immediate result of a federal disaster, a theft that is attributable to a federally declared disaster (say, because of lotters due to no power and no police protection) is deductible, and further supports the "attributable to" distinction.  

[LeonardS]

"To be eligible for this benefit program, your address must be in a federally-declared disaster area..."  Ref: Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief Program @Benifits.gov

About Benefits.gov "As the official benefits website of the U.S. government, our mission is to increase citizen access to benefit information, while reducing the expense and difficulty of interacting with the government."

@Claude4

[Claude4]

With all due respect, Benefits.gov is not an authoritative source.  It is a boiled down, simplified version of how one government agency interprets another agency's rules and regulations.  If I used that as a source in a Tax court case, I would lose.