Hurricane Sandy devastated significant portions of the East
Coast, causing unprecedented damage to homes and businesses. As people assess
their losses and start to rebuild, taxpayers should look at some key
considerations and new IRS rules and changes that may help them during this
difficult time:
Taxpayers in the federally declared disaster
areas in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have the option to file a
casualty loss claim on their 2011 tax return or file the claim with their 2012
tax return. If they choose to file
now, they can amend their 2011 return or file the claim on their original
return if they haven’t filed yet.
For those in need of a place to stay, the IRS and Treasury have
expanded the availability of housing for victims of Hurricane Sandy.
The IRS has also postponed various tax filing and payment deadlines that
occurred starting in late October; see www.irs.gov for detailed list of extended deadlines.
All affected taxpayers will need to
determine the fair market value of their loss. Don’t forget to include personal
items, like clothing and furnishings, as well as household goods.
Taxpayers throughout the country who are
donating to the various qualified charitable organizations through check,
credit card, grocery store donations, text messaging, and online donations can
deduct their donations. Make sure to get a receipt and keep bills, receipts,
and cancelled checks to support the deduction. To ensure the donations are to a
qualified organization, check the IRS list of approved charities.
Taxpayers whose documents were lost and destroyed can check out the
Jackson Hewitt Disaster Toolkit, How to Replace
Lost Identification and Documents for guidance on what to do now.
For more information on what to do in case of a disaster, or how to
prepare for a disaster, check out the Jackson Hewitt Disaster Recovery
Tax Guide.