8/30/2021
Candace J. Dixon
Everyone, from individuals to organizations and businesses, should take time now to create or update their emergency plans with the height of hurricane season fast approaching and the ongoing threat of wildfires in some parts of the country.
You can start getting ready for a disaster with a preparedness plan that includes securing and duplicating essential tax and financial documents, creating lists of property, and knowing where to find information once a disaster has occurred. Securing this information now can help you to quickly take advantage of disaster relief available from the IRS and find help faster in the aftermath of a disaster.
Be secure.
You should keep critical original documents inside waterproof containers in a secure space. Documents such as tax returns, birth certificates, deeds, titles and insurance policies should also be duplicated and kept with a trusted person outside the area a natural disaster may affect.
Make copies.
If original documents are available only on paper, you can use a scanner and save them on a USB flash drive, a CD, or in the cloud, which provides security and easy portability.
Document valuables.
Photographs and videos of a home or business's contents can help support claims for insurance or tax benefits after a distasted strikes. All property, especially expensive and high-value items, should be recorded. These IRS disaster-loss workbooks, Publication 584: Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook (Personal-Use Property), and Publication 584-B: Business Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook, can help you to compile lists of belongings or business equipment.
Check on employer fiduciary bonds.
Employers using payroll service providers should check if their provider has a fiduciary bond in place to protect them in the event of a default by the provider. Employers are encouraged to create an Electronic Federal Tax Payment System account at EFTPS.gov to monitor their payroll tax deposits and receive email alerts.
Know where to go for records.
Reconstructing records after a disaster may be required for tax purposes, getting federal assistance or insurance reimbursement. Find out if financial institutions provide statements and documents electronically. If you have lost some or all of your records during a disaster, you can visit the IRS' Reconstructing Records page.
Learn how the IRS is ready to help.
Those living in a federally declared disaster area can visit the IRS' Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page or Around the Nation to check for available disaster tax relief. The IRS automatically identifies those located in the covered disaster area and applies filing and payment relief. Those affected can call 866-562-5227 to speak with an IRS specialist trained to handle disaster-related issues.
If you are impacted by a disaster outside of a federally declared disaster area, you may qualify for disaster relief, including those who are not physically located in a disaster area but have records necessary to meet a filing or payment deadline postponed during the relief period located in a covered disaster area.
Visit Ready.gov/September for more information about National Preparedness Month.
Resources:
Publication 2194, Disaster Resource Guide for Individuals and Businesses
Publication 584-B, Business Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook
Publication 5307, Tax Reform: Basics for Individuals and Families
Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records
Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts
Reconstructing Records After a Natural Disaster or Casualty Loss
Tax Relief in Disaster Situations