September is National Preparedness Month
September is National Preparedness Month. With Wildfires, hurricanes, and more, you need to prepare all your documents for disasters.
When a disaster hits and you have to leave your home, having all or copies of your documents, meds, prescriptions, and more ready will ensure you have it easier no matter what happens.
We can help you get your tax documents in order. So no matter what hits, you are ready to go on with your life.
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Here are some more ideas on what to do.
Start secure
Everyone should keep critical original documents inside waterproof containers in a secure space. These include tax returns, birth certificates, deeds, titles, insurance policies, and other similarly important items. In addition, consider having a relative, friend, or other trusted person retain duplicate copies of these documents at a location outside the potentially impacted disaster area.
Make copies
If original documents are available only on paper, try scanning them into a digital file format. Saving them in a secure digital location, like a cloud-based storage application, can provide added security and portability.
Document valuables
Maintain a detailed inventory of your property and business contents. Taxpayers can take photos or videos to record their possessions but should also write down descriptions, including year, make and model numbers, where appropriate. After a disaster hits, this kind of documentation can help support claims for insurance or tax benefits.
Employer fiduciary bonds
Employers using payroll service providers should check if their provider has a fiduciary bond in place to protect the employer against a possible provider default.
Most employers already use the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) to make their federal tax deposits and business tax payments. Because these payments can easily be made either by phone or online, EFTPS offers an especially convenient option when a disaster may displace many businesses and their employees. It’s also easy to track tax payments and receive email alerts through EFTPS. Any business that doesn’t have one can create an EFTPS account.
Know where to go
Reconstructing records after a disaster may be required for tax purposes, getting federal assistance, or insurance reimbursement. Most financial institutions can provide statements and documents electronically, an option that can aid the reconstruction process. For tips on reconstructing records, visit IRS’s Reconstructing Records.
What to do after the disaster is over when the IRS starts jocking at your door.
Following a federal disaster declaration, the IRS may postpone various tax filing and tax payment deadlines or provide other relief.
The IRS identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and automatically applies filing and payment relief. This means taxpayers whose IRS address of record is located in the disaster area do not need to contact the IRS to get disaster tax relief.