With winter Already well underway and many regions of the country located in potentially disaster areas, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sends its annual reminder to taxpayers to prepare for natural disasters which could affect their tax returns and protect their important documents.

It may seem silly to worry taxes with the holidays approaching and considering that most documents can be obtained again if needed, but considering that this is in progress Hurricane seasons in the Pacific and Atlanticand the National Preparedness Month, It’s a good idea to look at your document storage, digital or otherwise, and ask yourself whether or not it’s secure enough.

While the IRS has the power to defer tax payment And filing deadlines in affected areas that have been affected by a natural disaster, and this is often the case, you may have other things in mind than rebuilding your documents in order to file taxes at some point. This year, numerous extensions have already been granted taxpayers due to a series of disasters, including storms, tornadoes and flooding caused by extreme weather events, and 2025 will be no different.

The extension is fairly automatic and guaranteed, but, as IRS explain, taxes should not be the only concern “Following a disaster, having up-to-date documents and other information readily available can help victims seek available assistance from the IRS and other agencies. Disaster assistance and emergency relief can help taxpayers and businesses recover financially from the consequences of a disaster, especially when federal government declares their location to be a major disaster area.

Retaining Documents the IRS Requires

THE IRS encourages people to follow things like tax returns at least in recent years, birth certificates, social security cards, deeds, titles, insurance policies, and other essential documents. All of these items should be kept in a safe place using waterproof and fireproof containers to account for most incidents.

It would also be a good idea to leave copies with a relative, friend, or other trusted person in case this safe is damaged or inaccessible as a result of the disaster. This may seem like overkill, but you might be happy to have access to most of these documents if you have suffered serious property losses.

Another recommendation is to scan or photograph all of your paper documents into a digital file format and store them in a secure digital location so that they are accessible if the original documents are lost or destroyed.

If nothing works and all documents are lost, public copies of most documents should be available. personal acts and documents in banks, public records offices and other institutions. THE IRS maybe even saved some from previous instances. But remember that any local office will likely have been affected as well, meaning the process of getting them may not be quick. Additionally, you probably won’t be the only one who needs access to these services, so they will be slower.

Maintain inventory

This is something everyone should do, regardless of where they live and natural disasters. Maintaining an inventory of assets regularly can avoid many problems with insurance companies and IRS even. This can be done by taking photos or videos and writing detailed descriptions, including year, make and model numbers where applicable, especially for specialized equipment that might be difficult to replace.

When the time comes to file insurance claims or tax benefitsThese records can be used to support claims and expedite the process, but they must be current and detailed enough to withstand scrutiny.