TAX RECORDS & DISASTERS

Tax records & disasters. Tax records are vital if you want to recover from a Natural Disaster. I know, as I have spoken to dozens of victims of natural disasters over 28 years in the Tax Resolution Services industry. One common denominator among all of those victims is this, the taxpayers who planned ahead, and kept their records in a safe and secure place, recovered financially much quicker than those that didn't. We have worked with both business owners and individuals on trying to find, reconstruct, and figure out tax returns, based on lost, or destroyed tax records, and it can be a virtual nightmare. Tax records & disasters.

Tax records should be stored in a dry place, above ground, in a plastic (don't ever use cardboard boxes) or other waterproof container. They can be stored as well on cd disk, and it is wise to keep a backup copy in the cloud for safekeeping. Even though it takes some work and planning to do this, the time you will save in the event of a disaster could save you untold hundreds of hours trying to reconstruct destroyed records. It might even save you from having to hire a Tax Resolution Services company.

The IRS website is a great place for information on this subject. The publication "Reconstructing Tax Records after a natural disaster or Casualty Loss", FS-2017-11, September 2017, is full of informative information regarding forms, publications and other useful information that you can use to prepare, and if needed file a claim for any type of loss in the IRS Internal Revenue Code. A large section entitled "Reconstructing Records" goes thru the entire process of what you need to do to file acceptable records after a Natural Disaster. Remember, a right and wrong way exist for doing this. If you have questions about doing any of this, feel free to call us at 1-888-689-7861 for a free Tax Resolution Consultation.

Two sections highlight the different sections used for figuring records for either business or personal losses. Each section goes into detail about what you can claim, how to do it, and how tax records are used to reconstruct your tax returns.