Chapter 6 › XXIII. Ineligible Costs

Will FEMA cover lost revenue or higher operating costs?

FEMA term

Ineligible costs

Short answer

No. The Stafford Act funds specific work, not every loss. Lost revenue, lost useful service life, post-disaster tax assessments and increased operating costs are generally ineligible.

What FEMA requires

Lost revenue: for example, waived tolls, ferry fares or tipping fees, cancelled events, utility shutdowns, or hospitals releasing patients or losing capacity.
Loss of useful service life: for example, long-term effects of flooding on a road, or lost landfill capacity from disaster debris.
Tax assessments: re-assessing property values after the disaster.
Increased operating costs: higher costs from increased demand for a service are generally ineligible. Short-term costs directly tied to specific emergency health and safety tasks can be eligible as emergency protective measures, such as fuel for increased pumping station use.

Documentation

For any increased operating cost you claim as emergency work, records tying it to the specific health and safety task and the period it lasted.

Watch out · Govstar practitioner advice

Local governments with a substantial loss of tax and other revenue may qualify for a Community Disaster Loan under Stafford Act Section 417, a separate program from PA.

Govstar summarizes FEMA’s Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide in plain language and links to the official text. Govstar is independent and not affiliated with FEMA. This is general guidance, not legal advice.