The IRS has released recommendations on how to protect sensitive documents in the event of severe weather. So far in 2023, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has declared disasters for mudslides, landslides, severe storms, tornadoes and more.
Original documents such as tax returns, Social Security cards, birth certificates and deeds should be placed inside a waterproof container in a safe space. The IRS encouraged individuals to also make copies of these important documents and store them in a secondary location such as a safe deposit box. In addition, scanned documents can be stored on a flash drive for easy portability.