IRS Offers 5 Tips to Prepare for Disaster

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1. Back-up records electronically, including “bank statements, tax returns, insurance policies,” the agency said. Using online statements or documents, available from so many providers now makes it much easier, and where that isn’t available, suggest that clients scan paper copies and save all of this securely on CD, DVD, external hard drive or a back-up storage service.
2. Photograph or videotape valuables in the home, which the IRS says can help document valuables in case of loss for insurance purposes an store these with a “friend or family member who lives outside the area,” the IRS stated in the release.
3. Review and update an emergency plans annually, as personal and business changes can affect “preparedness needs.”
4. Check on fiduciary bonds, if you are an employer who uses a payroll service, the IRS suggests. This “could protect the employer in the event of default by the payroll service provider,” the IRS release notes.
5. And finally, if disaster does strike, the IRS can provide copies of prior returns, which can be obtained by filing Form 4506, “Request for Copy of Tax Return.”