With winter already in full swing and many parts of the country in potential disaster zones, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is sending out its annual reminder to taxpayers to prepare for natural disasters that could impair their tax files and secure essential documents.
It may seem silly to worry about taxes with the holidays approaching, and most documents can be obtained again if necessary, but given the ongoing Pacific and Atlantic hurricane seasons, as well as National Preparedness Month, it is a good idea to review your paperwork storage, digital or otherwise, and consider whether it is sufficiently safe.
While the IRS has the right to postpone tax payment and filing deadlines in disaster-affected areas, which it frequently does, you may have other concerns besides restoring your records in order to submit taxes at some point. This year, taxpayers have already received multiple extensions owing to a variety of disasters, including storms, tornadoes, and flooding caused by extreme weather events, and 2025 will be no exception.
The extension is very routine and guaranteed; nevertheless, as the IRS notes, taxes should not be the primary concern. “Having updated documentation and other information readily available following a disaster might assist victims in applying for aid from the IRS and other authorities.
Disaster assistance and emergency relief may assist taxpayers and businesses in recovering financially from the effects of a disaster, particularly if the federal government considers their region a major disaster area.
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Safekeeping documents the IRS needs
The IRS urges consumers to keep track of important documents such as birth certificates, Social Security cards, deeds, titles, insurance policies, and tax returns from the previous several years. To account for most incidentals, keep all of these in a secure location in waterproof and fireproof containers.
It’s also a good idea to leave duplicates of them with a relative, friend, or other trustworthy person in case the safe is broken or unreachable in the aftermath of the disaster. It may appear to be overkill, but if you have experienced significant material losses, you will appreciate having access to the majority of those documents.
Another suggestion is to scan or photograph all of your paper records and save them in a secure digital location so that they can be accessible if the originals are lost or destroyed.
If nothing works and all documents are lost, most deeds and personal documents should be available for public inspection at banks, public records offices, and other locations.
The IRS may even have some saved from previous incidents. However, keep in mind that any local offices were most likely affected as well, so obtaining them may take some time. Furthermore, you will most likely not be the only person who needs to use these services, thus they will be slower.
Keeping inventory
This is something that everyone should undertake, regardless matter where they live or what natural calamities they may face. Keeping a frequent inventory of assets might help you avoid problems with insurance companies and the IRS.
This can be accomplished by taking images or videos and writing extensive descriptions, including the year, make, and model numbers as relevant, particularly for specialty equipment that may be difficult to replace.
When it comes time to file insurance claims or tax benefits, these records can be used to support the claims and speed up the process; however, they must be up to date and detailed enough to survive inspection.