NAEA offers tax tips to help you prevent a natural disaster from becoming a financial disaster
华盛顿特区.C. — Natural disasters can strike anywhere and the financial cost to individual households and businesses can be staggering. Insurance may help defray some of the costs associated with restoring and replacing damaged and destroyed property. 在某些情况下, the IRS may institute special programs and provisions designed to bring added relief to victims living in affected areas. 不过, a little preparation and an understanding of relevant sections of the tax code are critical to limiting your financial loss.
的 全国注册代理人协会 offers the following tax tips to help prevent a natural disaster from becoming a financial disaster. 值得注意的是，随着《黄金城电子娱乐网址》的通过, those who suffer casualty losses caused by natural disasters will only be eligible for tax relief if their property is located within a federally declared disaster area.
建议一:为雨天(或炎热的)做好准备
当涉及到保护自己免受任何类型的灾难时, 记住这句老话, 一盎司的预防胜过十分的治疗.除了通常的建议——储备水和电池之外, take time now to make an inventory of the valuables in your home or business to help you document losses for insurance and tax purposes. 联邦应急管理局有一个有用的 检查表 让你开始这项任务.
Photographing or videotaping each room in your home or business is a great way to help document what was there and what condition it was in before the damage. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use your smartphone and then back up those images to the cloud in case your phone is lost or destroyed. Take photos of property and structures outside your home too since damage to your vehicles, 园林景观和其他财产也可以扣除.
如果你打算撤离你的家, 尽量随身携带重要文件，或将它们转移到更安全的地方, 比如银行的保险箱或者防水防火的容器. 考虑给重要的文件拍照，比如出生证明, 车辆登记, 税收文件, 等.，然后将这些电子记录上传到安全的云服务中.
技巧二:文件在清理前丢失
Photograph personal property damage to the inside and outside of your house or business before the cleanup process has begun, 因为你以后可能不记得你扔掉了什么. 咨询 黄金城电子娱乐网址国税局出版物584，伤亡，灾难和盗窃损失工作手册，以帮助您进行和组织一个房间一个房间的书面损坏清单.
Tax deductions for homes and buildings with structural damage require a qualified appraisal and records of the repairs to restore the building to its previous condition. 在许多情况下，房主保险将包括一些个人物品, 房屋是否为所发生的灾难类型投保. Keep in mind that all claims for damage must first be submitted to the property owner’s insurance carrier, 即使财产不在保险范围内, 这样才能扣除伤亡损失. 换句话说, your disaster loss may be tax deductible but only to the amount over any insurance reimbursement. 还有两个额外的限制:
技巧三:重建丢失或损坏的记录
Documenting the value of property losses becomes much more difficult without the invoices, 证明其价值的收据或其他记录. 但是，即使这些记录丢失了，您仍然有选择. 的 IRS为重建重要记录提供了有用的指导 在自然灾害中丢失或损坏的. 例如, use the Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds to help determine the current fair market value of lost vehicles. 查看过去的银行或信用卡对账单，找出你为丢失物品支付的费用. Old department store catalogs can be a useful resource to document the value of past purchases. You may also ask contractors to send you invoices for past home improvements they made to areas of your home now damaged by a natural disaster.
提示四:关注国税局网站上的特别公告
国税局可能会延长纳税申报期限, 允许更容易地获得受害人在工作场所退休计划中的资金, and make other provisions designed to provide financial relief to those affected by a natural disaster. 监控 IRS新闻编辑室页面 随时了解任何特别通知, including special relief offered for individual disasters as was done in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
提示五:决定何时扣除伤亡损失
与灾害有关的损失在IRS表格4684上申报, 伤亡和盗窃, 伤亡率的定义是, “伤害, 破坏, 或因可识别的突发事件而造成的财产损失, 意想不到的, 或不寻常的.” 的se losses can be deductible on your tax return — if you follow the rules and provide the appropriate documentation.
Typically, casualty losses are deductible during the taxable year that the loss occurred. 然而, the IRS may permit you to decide whether to claim your loss in the year that it occurred or in the previous year’s return. 这可能会有很大的不同，如果, 例如, both your house and your employer were wiped out by the same storm and you no longer have a workplace to return to. 在这种情况下, your income and the taxes you paid in the previous year could be much higher than in the present year; thus, your refund would be greater in the non-灾难的一年 than an offset of tax owed in the current, 灾难的一年.
建议六:咨询税务专家
Studying the tax code and relevant IRS bulletins may be too big a burden for those coping with all the challenges brought on by a disaster. Get help from an enrolled agent or other licensed tax professional to make sure you take advantage of every relevant tax provision available to you. 访问免费的“寻黄金城娱乐推荐”目录在eatax.在你附近找一个注册的代理. Enrolled agents are the only federally-licensed tax practitioners who specialize in taxation and have unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS.
