IRS Urges Emergency Preparedness Ahead of Peak Disaster

Summary — IRS Urges Emergency Preparedness Ahead of Peak Disaster As hurricane season peaks and wildfire risks remain high, the IRS urges individuals and businesses to update their emergency preparedness plans during National Preparedness Month. Key steps include safeguarding important documents like tax returns and insurance policies in waterproof, fireproof containers, maintaining detailed inventories of property with photos and descriptions, and creating digital backups. Employers are advised to ensure payroll service providers have fiduciary bonds and to use the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System for secure payments. When federal disasters are declared, the IRS often delays filing and payment deadlines automatically. Uninsured disaster losses may be deductible on tax returns. The IRS provides resources to help reconstruct lost records and encourages everyone to be prepared to minimize disaster impacts.