New Tax Credit Could Cover 50 Percent of Total Costs for Tornado Safe Room Construction
Meteorologists rarely agree on much. From conflicting long-term models on how much snow a new low-pressure system will bring next week to even trivial matters on relative humidity on the day-to-day forecast, forecasters rarely find common ground when it comes to the weather. But one weather trend they seem to all agree on is changing nature of tornadoes. After evaluating years of empirical data, meteorologists have finally found at least one consistency. They all believe Tornado Alley is moving to the southeast. While the cause of the not-so-sudden shift is up for debate, recent data shows a surge in confirmed touchdowns in the Deep South. But southeastern residents, especially in the southeast, remain the most vulnerable to tornadoes. To help provide refuge in times of changing weather patterns, emergency management officials have unveiled the Alabama Storm Shelter Tax Credit.
Why Are Tornadoes So Dangerous in Alabama?
Did you know that over 200 tornadoes have touched down in Alabama over the past two years? More than 50 have already unleashed their destructive winds in the state in 2023 alone. While the scientific community is still trying to determine causation and correlation in the question of the tornadic shift, some constants have come to light. Most tornadoes tend to touchdown in the south during the dead of night when most people have already fallen asleep in their beds. This might be due to the fact that most afternoon storm systems originate in the Midwest at peak temperature high before traversing easterly and besieging the Deep South after nightfall. The state’s geography doesn’t do any favors for the storm-prone areas, either. Gently rolling hills with thick tree-lines can shield tornadoes from seasoned storm spotters in the dead of night. While radar can indicate the possibility of an incoming tornado, it’s not proof positive that a tornado is imminent. Storm chasers and spotters can give the definitive warning to communities in the path of dangerous twisters.
What Is the Alabama Storm Shelter Tax Credit?
“The Alabama Storm Shelter Tax Credit is for eligible tax payers who incur costs for the construction, acquisition, or installation of a qualified storm shelter at their primary residence in the state of Alabama will be eligible for an income tax credit for the storm shelter,” according to the state’s emergency management office. The tax credit will equal three thousand dollars ($3,000) or 50 percent of the total cost of the construction, acquisition, and installation of the qualified storm shelter at the primary residence, whichever is less. “The total costs for qualification of the tax credit will exclude any costs reimbursed or expected to be reimbursed by any other reimbursements, grants, or other government subsidies or incentives. Alabama Emergency Management Agency will issue a tax credit certificate to the taxpayer seeking the credit,” said the agency. Tax credit certificates will be first-come, first-served until the annual cap is met. The tax credits allowed will be effective January 1, 2022, for the 2022 tax year and will continue through the 2025 tax year unless continued by an act of the Legislature. To register for the Alabama Storm Shelter Tax Credit, visit the state’s emergency management agency website. If you are eligible for the tax credit, consider investing these precious funds in a panelized safe room or above-ground tornado shelter from U.S. Safe Room. Our steel-welded tornado shelters can withstand windspeeds of 250 miles per hour and can be retrofitted or implemented into any existing structure.
