Hurricanes and tropical storms affect many of us, and no one is immune to natural disasters in general. Currently heavy rain and severe flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey have affected the states of Texas and Louisiana. The Internal Revenue Service offers the following advice to help you be prepared:

Go Electronic

You may have access to bank and other financial statements online. If so, your statements are already securely stored there. You can also keep an additional set of records electronically. One way is to scan tax records and insurance policies onto an electronic format such as PDF. You may want to download important records to an external hard drive, USB flash drive or burn them onto a CD or DVD.  Be sure you keep duplicates of your records in a safe place. For example, store them in a waterproof container away from the originals. If a disaster strikes your home, it may also affect a wide area. If that happens, you may not be able to retrieve the records that are stored in that area.

Document Your Valuables

Take photos or videos of the contents of your home or business. These visual records can help you prove the value of your lost items. They may help with insurance claims or casualty loss deductions on your tax return. You should also store these in a safe place. For example, you might store them with a friend or relative who lives out of the area.

Get Copies of Prior Year Tax Records

If you need a copy of your tax return, you should file Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return. The usual fee per copy is $50. However, the IRS will waive this fee if you are a victim of a federally declared disaster. If you just need information that shows most line items from your tax return, you can request a free transcript by calling 1-800-908-9946. Two other options are to file Form 4506T-EZ, Short Form Request for Individual Tax Return Transcript, or Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return. You can also obtain IRS tax forms and publications online any time at www.irs.gov/forms.

IRS Disaster Hotline

If you fall victim to a disaster, know that the IRS stands ready to help. You can call the IRS disaster hotline at 866-562-5227 for special help with disaster related tax issues.