Put a Plan in Place: How to Protect Your Records Before Disaster Strikes

Taxpayers don’t usually think about their financial records until something forces them to do so. A storm, a fire, a flood… no matter what kind of disaster shows up, the IRS is encouraging everyone to take a few simple steps now rather than scrambling later.

The good news is that none of this takes much time, and a little organization today can save you real headaches if you’re ever staring down an insurance claim or a tax filing with half your paperwork missing.

Start Now

Everyone—from individuals to businesses—can start now by:

• Securing and duplicating essential tax and financial documents
• Creating lists of valuables, including photographing and recording videos
• Knowing where to find information once a disaster occurs

Review Your Plan Every Year

If you already have an emergency preparedness plan, good. Now go check it. Plans get stale. Phone numbers change, account details shift, and the flash drive you tucked away two years ago might not even be the one you’d grab today.

Make it a habit to review your plan at least once a year. Ready.gov has checklists and resources if you’re starting from scratch or just want to make sure you haven’t missed anything.

Keep Original Documents Secure

Taxpayers should keep critical original documents inside waterproof containers in a secure space, including:

• Tax returns
• Birth certificates
• Deeds
• Titles
• Insurance policies

In addition, consider having a relative, friend or other trusted person retain duplicate copies of these documents at a location outside the potentially impacted disaster area.

Get Your Documents Into Electronic Form

If your tax returns, deeds, titles, and insurance policies only exist on paper, that’s a problem. Convert them to digital files and store them somewhere safe, whether that’s a USB drive kept off-site or a cloud storage account you trust. Most banks and financial institutions can also provide statements electronically, so you don’t have to track down a paper trail later.

Document What You Own

Before anything happens, walk through your home or business and take photos or video of your belongings and equipment. Write down details like make, model, and year where it matters.

This step makes a difference if you ever need to support an insurance claim or a casualty loss deduction. The IRS publishes a disaster loss workbook, Publication 584, that walks you through building a room-by-room inventory if you want a more structured approach.

Quick Reference Guide: Essential Steps to Safeguard your Records

• Secure and Backup Documents: Store originals in waterproof containers and save digital copies in the cloud.
• Document Property: Keep a detailed inventory of valuable possessions with descriptions and photos.
• Stay Informed: Know where to access IRS resources and local emergency contacts.
• Understand Relief Options: Be aware of IRS disaster relief and reconstruction resources.

Know How to Reconstruct Records

After a disaster, you may need to reconstruct records for tax purposes, getting federal assistance or insurance reimbursement. Keep in mind that most financial institutions can provide statements and documents electronically, which can help you in the reconstruction process. For tips, visit IRS’s Reconstructing Records.

Know What Relief Is Available

If a disaster is bad enough to earn a federal declaration, the IRS often pushes back filing and payment deadlines for affected taxpayers. If your address of record is in the declared area, this relief applies automatically. You don’t need to call and ask for it. The IRS’s Around the Nation page lets you click on your state to see what relief is currently in effect.

There’s also a provision that lets you choose to deduct an uninsured or unreimbursed disaster loss on either the return for the year the disaster happened or the prior year’s return, whichever works out better for you. For more information, see Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts.

If you’re in a federally declared disaster area and have questions specific to your situation, the IRS Special Services Hotline (866-562-5227) connects you with a specialist who handles exactly this.

Weather the Storm with Confidence

You can’t stop a disaster from happening, but you can control how prepared you are when it does. Spend an hour this week scanning a few documents, snapping some photos of your belongings, and checking that your emergency plan still makes sense. It’s a small investment that pays off the moment you actually need it.

What’s the one document you’d grab first if you had five minutes to evacuate?

Resources

• Find more resources on Disaster Preparedness at, visit Ready.gov.
• For a list of localities qualifying for relief and details on relief available, visit the IRS Tax Relief in Disaster Situations webpage.
• View the IRS disaster-loss workbooks for individuals and businesses compile lists of belongings or business equipment.