The IRS has reminded taxpayers to develop emergency preparedness plans due to an active hurricane season, the ongoing threat of wildfires in some parts of the country and other natural or man-made disasters that can occur.
Taxpayers should:
- Secure critical documents such as tax returns, birth certificates, deeds, titles and insurance policies inside waterproof containers in a secure space
- Duplicate and scan key documents for backup storage on electronic media such as in the cloud or on a flash drive which provide security and easy portability
- Record all property, especially expensive and high value items. The IRS disaster-loss workbooks in Publication 584 and Publication 584-B can help individuals and businesses compile lists of belongings or business equipment
- Employers should check their payroll service provider’s fiduciary bonds as they could protect the employer in the event of default by the provider
- Employers should create an Electronic Federal Tax Payment System account at EFTPS.gov to monitor their payroll tax deposits and receive email alerts
- Reconstruct records after a disaster for federal assistance, insurance reimbursement and tax purposes. Further, taxpayers who have lost some or all their records during a disaster can visit the IRS’s Reconstructing Records webpage.
In addition, taxpayers residing in a federally declared disaster area can check for the available disaster tax relief on the IRS Tax Relief in Disaster Situations webpage or Around the Nation on IRS.gov. The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies filing and payment relief. Taxpayers impacted by a disaster can contact the IRS at 866-562-5227 to speak with an IRS specialist trained to handle disaster-related issues. Further, taxpayers impacted by a disaster outside of a federally declared disaster area may qualify for disaster relief. This includes taxpayers who are not physically located in a disaster area but their records essential for filing or payment deadlines postponed during the relief period are located in a covered disaster area.
If you have questions or need help with any of these filings, let us know.