Since COVID-19 is a federally qualified major disaster for my state, does that mean I live in a Qualified Disaster Area?

[hiddencat]

My state and county list COVID-19 as a Major Disaster Declaration. Does that mean I life in a Qualified Disaster Area? The "learn more" button doesn't really answer that question.

[Mike9241]

no it has to b a federally declared disaster area and I don't know of any area that has so declared due to Covid.

[Opus 17]

That’s a surprisingly complex question to answer. It appears that the coronavirus is a federal disaster under certain sections of the tax law but not a qualified natural disaster under certain other sections of the tax law.  For example, the coronavirus by itself, does not entitle you to take a casualty or theft loss. Those losses are limited to federally qualified natural disasters and you can see a list of them here.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-relief-in-disaster-situations

There are of course, a number of special tax relief provisions specifically for the coronavirus, including the ability to defer taxes on withdrawals from retirement plans needed to pay for coronavirus expenses and the ability to make repayment to those retirement plans within three years instead of 60 days.

[fanfare]

Answer carefully the TurboTax questions about your 1099-R (if any), which will weave you  through these nuances.