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Don't Mess With Taxes

Translating taxes into money-saving English

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Natural Disasters: Preparing for disasters

No place in the world is disaster proof. Mother Nature unleashes her horrors globally and year round via hurricanes, tornadoes, wild fires, floods, blizzards and more.

This special Natural Disasters Preparation Page, part of the overall Storm Warnings collection of Don't Mess With Taxes blog posts about disasters and the associated tax implications, provides information on what you should do to get ready when Mother Nature is about to turn into Mommy Dearest.

Storm-Warning-Severe-Weather-Warning

So, since time is of the essence when a natural disaster is bearing down on you, here goes with ways to get ready for the various catastrophes that many of us will face at some point in our lives.

 

Preparation

Being prepared is the absolute best first move. Trust me, the hubby and I have been through a couple of hurricanes and our pre-storm planning made dealing with the aftermath much more tolerable.

The National Hurricane Center says when preparing for the natural disaster on which it focuses, you need to develop a family plan, have a place to go to ride out the storm, secure your home and have a pet plan.

All of those apply to every type of disaster.

On the physical front, make sure you family members in potential harm's way know what y'all plan to do in case of a storm.

Where will you go? Stay at home or go to relatives' homes or a shelter? Which relatives? Where is the nearest shelter? Does it accept pets?

Make sure every family member knows his or her role in storm preparation and recovery. Also make clear the steps each takes if your family is separated, for example at work or school, when the disaster hits. Also give every family member a list of important telephone numbers.

For disasters that could require you to do without electricity for a while, have an emergency kit that includes shelf-stable food and plenty of water, not only for drinking but also sanitary use. Don't forget that hand-held can opener! And lots of batteries or converters that can plug into your car's lighter or special outlet for radios and TVs as well as your cell phone.

You also need a financial disaster kit.

Have a credit card with a large enough credit balance to cover an extended stay at a motel if you have to leave your home and friends and family can't take you in, at least for the full term of your displacement.

Have some cash on hand. Your temporary relocation site might not be near a fee-free ATM. If power is out, retailers won't be able to process credit or debit transactions.

Have your insurance documents, for bother your home and auto coverages, handy. Make sure you have your insurance cards and numbers of your agents in case you need to make a claim. And don't forget your medical insurance material in case, God forbid, you need treatment during or after the disaster.

Round up all your other financial documents, such as bank statements, credit card bills, family records (birth, marriage, death certificates), photocopies of credit and identification cards and an inventory of your home, including both the items inside and your surrounding property.

Tax records definitely should be in your financial disaster go-kit. If you do have to file claims for disaster damage, this data will help.

Don't Mess With Taxes posts that have more details are below, with newer ones listed first:

  • Hurricane Ida is on her way. Get ready NOW! (Aug. 28, 2021) 
  • 6 hurricane prep tips for businesses (Aug. 11, 2021) 
  • Tax-free shopping starts Memorial Day weekend in TX & FL (including storm prep items) (May 26, 2021) 
  • Atlantic hurricane season starts early for 7th straight year (May 22, 2021) 
  • Disaster season 2021 is here. Get ready! (March 24, 2021) 
  • Florida's hurricane prep sales tax holiday runs May 29-June 4 (May 29, 2020)
  • Hurricane season 2020 early start means it's time to prepare (May 17, 2020)
  • A pre-disaster inventory can pay off when filing insurance or tax claims (April 28, 2020)
  • Sales tax holidays still on in Missouri and Texas despite COVID-19 concerns (April 23, 2020)
  • Massive, potentially dangerous storm system underscores need for safety, financial and tax preparations (Jan. 10, 2020)
  • 7 tips to ensure your pets' safety during a disaster (Aug. 31, 2019)
  • IRS and other government resources can help you deal with a natural disaster (Aug. 28, 2019)
  • 4 tax and financial tips on the eve of Hurricane Season 2019 (May 30, 2019)
  • Getting ready, physically & fiscally, for natural disasters (May 21, 2019)
  • Hurricane season 2018 is over, but disasters don't follow calendars so be ready year-round (Dec. 1, 2018)
  • 5 disaster preparedness moves for businesses (Sept. 12, 2018)
  • LA, TX hold tax holidays over Memorial Day weekend (May 24, 2018)
  • Texas sales tax holiday encourages emergency preparedness (April 26, 2018)
  • Snowbound businesses get more time to file tax extensions (March 13, 2018)
  • Alabama kicks off 2018's hurricane sales tax holidays (Feb. 24, 2018)
  • Tropical Storm Otto threatens Central America (Nov. 21, 2017)
  • 4 things to do now as Hurricane Irma approaches U.S. (Sept. 5, 2017; updated Oct. 8, 2018)
  • Catastrophe Savings Accounts (CSAs) offer homeowners in Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina tax-advantaged way to prepare for storm recovery (June 20, 2017)
  • Texas' emergency preparedness sales tax holiday coincides with 2017 hurricane season's early start (April 22, 2017)
  • Get ready for Hurricane Matthew NOW! (Oct. 5, 2016)
  • Prepare for Hurricane Matthew hit and aftermath (Oct. 4, 2016)
  • Already active hurricane season 2016 is finally official (June 1, 2016)
  • Wet Memorial Day weekend in advance of official hurricane season. Time to get ready for more storms (May 29, 2016)
  • Virginia, Louisiana drop end-of-May hurricane prep tax holidays (May 28, 2016)
  • Texas' April 23-25 emergency preparation sales tax holiday is too late for some Lone Star State shoppers (April 22, 2016)
  • Tax prep before disaster strikes (June 17, 2014; Bankrate.com)
  • Tornadoes. Again. Be prepared, physically and on tax front (June 17, 2014) 
  • Preparation is key as severe weather seasons overlap (July 7, 2014) 
  • Tax holidays on tap for hurricane prep, Energy Star appliances  (May 23, 2014)
  • California wildfire season has arrived, reminding us that it's time to prepare for it and other natural disasters (May 3, 2013) 
  • Tax records at top of one Superstorm Sandy survivor's evacuation list (Nov. 13, 2012) 
  • Last-minute hurricane prep tips (Oct. 28, 2012)
  • Take a pre-disaster inventory of your home (May 27, 2012; updated May 25, 2018)
  • TS Alberto threat fizzles, providing time to get ready for 2012 hurricane season (May 21, 2012)
  • Hurricane season 2012 arrives early as Alberto forms off South Carolina coast (May 19, 2012)
  • Fire break, or getting a "go bag" ready (Sept. 6, 2011)
  • Get disaster help from the IRS; Before storms strike, prepare! (June 1, 2011) 
  • Insurance tips for storm season (Aug. 21, 2008)
  • Time to prepare for Mother Nature's less maternal side (May 24, 2006)     

Looking for more or other disaster info? Check out the separate Storm Warning pages on steps to make your recovery smoother and quicker, how to donate to groups that help disaster survivors, general storm stories and information and additional disaster resources.

 

 

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Today's Tax Tip

  • IRS paying billions in late refund interest — If you're waiting for your IRS refund, there's not much that can help ease your frustration. But if Uncle Sam takes more than 45 days, you could at least get a bit of interest added to your delayed tax cash. So far, the agency has paid $3.3 billion in such interest amounts. And the amount could grow, since on July 1 the quarterly adjustment to the interest rate goes up a percentage point. (May 20, 2022)

  • Tax Tip; click pencil for all tax tip links

  • The 2022 Tax Tips offer ways to file your annual return, along with post-filing advice, important tax news and, of course, ways to cut your current tax year bill. You'll find the monthly assemblages on their own respective pages: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. Remember, tax tasks and tips don't stop after you file your annual return!

COVID-19 & Taxes

  • COVID-19
    Coronavirus has wreaked havoc
    on the 2020 and 2021 tax seasons.
    These three Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Taxes pages have details:
    March-July 2020,
    August-December 2020,
    January-December 2021, and
    January-… 2022
    You can find medical coronavirus resource links further down this column.

All About Kay

  • OK, some about Kay
    Open sign
    Kay Bell — Native Texan (the blog title totally makes sense now, right?). Professional journalist. Tax geek.

My Other Accounts

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  • *************

Tick ... Tick ... Tick

  • Tax Season 2022 continues!

    Tax Day 2022 is finally over … unless you're one of the millions who have more time to file — looking at you taxpayers abroad and those in major disaster areas — or you got an extension to file your 2021 tax year return. That's fine. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service appreciates some of us spreading out our filings, especially when we and the agency still are dealing with all the complications of COVID-19 and taxes.

    That's why the ol' blog's focus now is on all y'all still working on returns. But I haven't forgotten my organized taxpayer readers, who are already looking for ways to reduce their 2022 tax year bills. Yep, that amount is adding up, but there are moves you can make. The monthly tips and reminders a little further down this column can help everyone, regardless of which tax year you're working on.

    Those on extension should keep a keen eye on the countdown clock below. It will help you track the days tick, tick, ticking off toward that absolutely final fall filing due date of Oct. 17. Yep, it's a few days later this year.
    Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.


Time for Tax Tasks


  • monthly tax moves


  • May has arrived!
    That exclamation mark is sincere and deserved. You've got to love a month that starts with a celebration.

    May Pole Dance via GIPHY


    After the May Day dances are done, the commemorative days just keep coming. There are well-known ones, like Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day, as well as some more obscure ones, like Visit Your Relatives Day, National Smile Day, and my favorite, Eat What You Want Day.

    But even with all these (and more!) celebrations, there's still time to make some money-saving May tax moves. Let's get to it!

    May 1: While May Day isn't a big holiday in the United States, globally the first day of May is a time for celebrating workers' contributions. But that can apply here, too, in connection with some employment-related tax tasks. If you got a big refund or owed more tax than you expected when you filed (or got an extension) last month, today's the perfect time to do paycheck check-up to determine how you should adjust your withholding.

    May 5: ¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

    Feliz Cinco de Mayo

    Fiestas are back this year, as more of us have been taken advantage of COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters. Still, be careful out there celebrating this Mexican holiday (and no, it's NOT Mexican Independence Day) that tends to spur more festivities here north of the border. Party responsibly, both when it come to the lingering pandemic and imbibing your favorite adult beverage, likely a margarita, which included the cost of state and federal alcohol taxes. Your state tax collector also will raise a glass to your fiscal contribution, since during the pandemic, sin taxes were a revenue bright spot for many states.

    May 8: Happy Mother's Day!

    Happy Mother's Day

    If you're just this year making up for pandemic paused family visits, give your mom a longer hug on her special day. Love, flowers, and the best of health and happiness to every mother, from the new ones just discovering the joys, tax and otherwise, of new parenthood to those gracefully maneuvering their Golden Years while getting some tax-advantaged help from their families.

    May 10: Eateries are still recovering from the challenges of operating during a national health crisis. Restaurants closed, then opened, then closed again. Others relied on and have stuck with take-out and deliveries. Whether you're dining in or still getting food brought to your house, remember to tip your server or delivery person.

    restaurant check tip iStock
    If a tip isn't included in your food delivery charge, click the image above to calculate how much to tip the person who brought it to you.

    As for servers who now are back on the job, remember that your tips are taxable income. If you worked at least some of March at a job where you got gratuities, you need to account for them today if they came to at least $20 last month. Use Form 4070 to report your tips today to your employer.

    May 16: Before the seasonal shift into summer, take care of spring tax cleaning. Give away clothing and household goods you no longer use. Your philanthropy could provide you a charitable tax deduction.

    May 23: Kick spring cleaning up a notch. Go beyond housekeeping and house clearing and make those home repairs you've been putting off. Many home improvements, including landscaping, could pay off in by increasing your home's basis, which means your profit for tax purposes will be smaller and stay under the amount that's tax-free when you eventually sell your home.

    May 27: If you're heading out early for the long Memorial Day weekend that traditionally kicks off summer, be sure to plan for added costs, like the price of getting to your holiday destination. Most of us will hit the highways, so even though gasoline prices have come down a bit, they still will take a bite of our travel budgets. Sorry, it's not enough to get Congress to create a federal gas tax holiday. And if you're renting your home to incoming tourists, be sure to pay the state and/or local taxes added to short-term home rentals.

    May 30: As you honor military personnel this Memorial Day who made the ultimate sacrifice, don't forget about their families. There are some tax considerations offered survivors of lost soldiers, sailors, and air crew.

    Small Business Tax Calendar: Important filing, deposit and record keeping dates throughout the year that your company needs to know. You can get more tax calendar information at the IRS' online calendar page and view the full year's important business and individual tax dates in IRS Pub. 509.

State Tax Help

  • Don't forget your state taxes!
    Forty-three states and D.C. collect personal income taxes. But even if you live in of the seven states without an income levy, you still face other state (and local) taxes.

    State Tax Departments provides links to your state's Web page. The companion page, Tax Tidbits, is the compilation of blurbs about each state's tax laws. And for more state tax news, check out all our state tax bloggings.

Tax Forms

  • Tax Forms
    Thanks to our increased use of tax preparers and computer software, many of us don't see our tax forms until we sign and file them. But knowing what's on these documents, either in paper or digital form, and why the IRS wants it is key to understanding our tax system. And knowledge definitely is power, especially when it comes to tax savings. Find this valuable information in the ol' blog's special Talking Tax Forms page.

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Tell it to the Hill

  • DMWT Politics Posts
  • While it's easy to rail at the IRS, for the most part we can thank — or blame — our tax laws on Congress and the White House. So if you have an issue with tax legislation or want a tax bill passed, you need to let your federal legislators and the White House occupant know of your concerns. You can find out who in Washington, D.C., to contact (and how), as well as get information on your local lawmakers for matters, tax or otherwise, closer to home, at USA Gov.

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