Tax relief for Hurricane Sandy victims

Did you and your practice feel the effects of Hurricane Sandy? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will assist taxpayers who live in the areas of Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island officially declared disaster areas (for a comprehensive list of locations, visit www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Help-for-Victims-of-Hurricane-Sandy).

If you have any questions , the IRS encourages you to call 866-562-5227 to speak with specialists trained to handle disaster-related tax issues.

If you lost your tax documents in the storm , you can use form 4506 (Request for Copy of Tax Return) to request back copies of your previously filed tax returns and their attachments, including W-2 forms.

You also can order transcripts that show most of the line items on your previously filed tax returns. Visit www.irs.gov/Individuals/Order-a-Transcript, call 800-908-9946, or use form 4506T-EX (Short Form Request for Individual Tax Return Transcript) or form 4506-T (Request for Transcript of Tax Return).

The IRS offers a Disaster Resource Guide for Individuals and  Businesses  (www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p2194.pdf) that tells you how to claim unreimbursed casualty losses on property that Hurricane Sandy damaged or destroyed, offers tips for reconstructing your records, and provides disaster relief resources.