Here’s what HIVE AI had to say about “What emergency preparedness steps should I take for tax and business records?”:

Emergency preparedness for tax and business records

Understand your legal duty to keep records

• Keep permanent books and records sufficient to establish income, deductions, credits, and other return items, and retain them as long as they may be material to any tax administration matter. This baseline obligation applies to businesses and exempt organizations alike and drives your preparedness plan. 1
• For exempt organizations, maintain records to substantiate Form 990 reporting and any unrelated business income tax; records must be available for inspection. 2

Build a resilient records system

• Implement formal records management: label records, secure storage, routine backups, offsite storage, and integrity testing. If any third party reformats or processes your records, ensure quality controls to preserve integrity, accuracy, and reliability. 3
• Follow recognized standards (for example, NARA electronic records standards) as a framework for creation, use, preservation, and disposition. 3

Protect originals and create offsite/digital backups

• Go paperless where possible: scan W‑2s, returns, receipts, and business docs; back up electronic files and store copies in a separate, safe location (not near your primary site). 4
• Keep originals such as tax returns, Social Security cards, birth certificates, deeds, and insurance policies in a waterproof, fireproof container; keep copies offsite (safe deposit box or trusted contact outside the risk area). 5
• Back up computer systems regularly and encrypt backups; maintain both cloud and external encrypted copies, and adopt a monthly (or more frequent) backup cadence with test restores. 6

Inventory assets and document valuables

• Maintain a room‑by‑room inventory of personal and business property with photos/videos, makes, models, and serials; store images offsite. Use IRS Disaster Loss Workbooks (Publication 584 for individuals and 584‑B for businesses) to catalog possessions and equipment. 4
• Detailed inventories support insurance claims and any casualty loss claims and speed recovery. 7

Continuity and communications planning

• Create and annually update an all‑hazards continuity of operations plan: identify hazards, define shelter/evacuation, communication trees for employees/customers, alternative telecoms (cell, radios), data backups, generators, and practice drills. 4
• Include Ready.gov checklists in your plan and explicitly incorporate financial and tax record procedures. 5

Cybersecurity and data protection

• Use the Security Summit’s “Taxes‑Security‑Together” checklist: anti‑virus, firewalls, multi‑factor authentication, backup software/services, drive encryption, and secure VPNs. Maintain a written data security plan as required for professional tax preparers and train staff. 8
• Develop a continuity plan for cyber incidents, perform routine encrypted backups (including after malware scans), and consult insurance providers about data theft protection and incident response. 6

Special payroll and vendor considerations

• If you use a payroll service provider, confirm they maintain a fiduciary bond to protect you if they default—verify this before disasters when disruptions and fraud risks rise. 4
• Keep payroll tax deposit procedures resilient; disasters can affect timeliness, so ensure backups and authorizations are in place. 9

How to access IRS help after a disaster

• If records are lost, quickly request prior returns/transcripts: use Form 4506 for copies and Form 4506‑T or Get Transcript for transcripts (current year and three prior). 4
• The IRS provides a centralized Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief page and Publication 547 for guidance on casualties, disasters, and thefts; include these references in your plan. 5

Know the tax relief landscape

• In federally declared disasters, the IRS may offer filing/payment relief and may recall cases from private collection or pause certain actions for affected taxpayers—monitor IRS announcements when disasters strike. 10

Reconstructing records if you suffer a loss

• Use the IRS’s “Reconstructing records after a natural disaster or casualty loss” guidance to rebuild books for tax, insurance, and assistance applications; accurate loss estimates can increase access to loans and grants. 9

Retention and substantiation practices to speed claims

• Keep records available for IRS inspection as long as contents may be material; build retention schedules that exceed normal audit windows for high‑risk items. 11
• For items subject to strict substantiation (for example, travel, meals, listed property), maintain contemporaneous logs noting amount, time, place, business purpose, and business relationship; prepare entries at or near the time of use. 12
• If a catastrophe impairs records, reasonable‑cause standards in IRS regulations look to whether you had procedures designed to ensure compliance; disasters like fire, flood, or theft can constitute supervening events beyond your control, but you must reconstruct from alternative records within a reasonable period. 13

Annual review checklist

• Update emergency and continuity plans yearly; as staff or operations change, revise procedures and re‑train. Verify your ability to receive severe‑weather alerts and that supplies are current. 4
• Review backup jobs and test restores, verify offsite redundancy, confirm vendor bonds/contacts, refresh your asset inventory and insurance coverage, and ensure contact trees and document locations are still accurate. 7

If you share your business type, storage systems, and current backup process, I can tailor a records risk map and a 90‑day action plan aligned with your industry’s specific requirements.

Sources

1 – CCA 201111014 📄 Summarize
2 – CCA 202248014 📄 Summarize
3 – Rev. Proc. 2098-25 📄 Summarize
4 – IRS.gov – Preparing for a disaster (taxpayers and businesses) 📄 Summarize
5 – IRS – Publication 5857 (en-sp) Be Prepared for Disasters (English and Spanish) 📄 Summarize
6 – IRS – Publication 4557 Safeguarding Taxpayer Data A Guide for Your Business 📄 Summarize
7 – IRS Newsroom – IR-2025-89 📄 Summarize
8 – IRS.gov – Tax Security 2.0 The Taxes-Security-Together Checklist 📄 Summarize
9 – IRS Newsroom – IR-2025-55 📄 Summarize
10 – IRC § 6306(i) 📄 Summarize
11 – IRS Determination-201749015 📄 Summarize
12 – Treasury Regulation 1.274-5T 📄 Summarize
13 – Treasury Regulation 301.6708-1 📄 Summarize

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