One year after the eruption of Kīlauea, Big Island resident know that disasters can happen at any time, and the Internal Revenue Service is encouraging taxpayers to be prepared for the unexpected.
In the past 18 months, the IRS responded to presidentially declared disasters in 15 states and U.S. territories. The IRS offered tax relief and assistance to victims of hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, volcanos, fires, tornadoes, severe storms, high winds and floods.
Because a disaster can strike any time, it’s important that plans be current. Individual and family emergency plans should be reviewed annually. They need to be updated when changes occur, such as change in marital status, size of the family or relocations. When a company or organization hires new employees or changes functions, it should update emergency plans and inform employees.
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Backup key documents
Taxpayers can help themselves recover from a disaster by keeping key documents in a safe place. These include bank statements, tax returns and insurance policies stored securely in a waterproof container. Have a duplicate set of key documents stored safely away from the originals.
Many financial institutions provide statements and documents electronically, making retrieval of that information easier. Original paper documents can be scanned and downloaded to an external hard drive, flash drive, CD or DVD.
Document valuables
A picture can be worth a thousand words, especially those that document the contents of a home or business before and after a disaster. Photographs can help prove the fair market value of property when filing insurance or casualty loss claims. Photos should be stored with backup files outside the area that may be affected by a disaster.
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The IRS has disaster-loss workbooks that can help compile lists of personal belongings or business equipment. Images may fit on the same storage device as electronic documents.
When disaster strikes, the IRS is here to help. When there is a federally-declared disaster, a special IRS toll-free hotline at (866) 562-5227is open so affected taxpayers can speak with specialists trained to handle disaster-related tax issues.
Replacing lost key tax documents can be done by submitting Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return. Alternatively, transcripts showing most line items on tax returns can be ordered through the Get Transcript link on IRS.gov, by calling (800) 908-9946 or by using Form 4506T-EZ, Short Form Request for Individual Tax Return Transcript, or Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return.
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Beware of scams and fraud
After a disaster, criminals and scammers try to take advantage of the generosity of taxpayers who want to help victims. Fraudulent schemes normally start with unsolicited contact by telephone, social media, e-mail or in-person using a variety of tactics.
Some impersonate charities to get money or personal and financial information.
Some create bogus websites similar to legitimate charities to trick people to send money or provide financial information.
Others operate bogus charities and solicit money or financial information by telephone or email.
Limit on personal casualty and theft losses.
Recent tax law changes limit losses that can be claimed on a federal tax return. For more information, see:
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