![natural_disasters_list_1_.56117a5e5df03[1]](https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/natural_disasters_list_1_.56117a5e5df03_1_.61c1db14bf0ea.png)
In a letter submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the American Institute of CPAs requested that the IRS incorporate a checkbox and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster number space into various tax returns. This action would provide an alternative method for taxpayers to ensure that they receive the appropriate disaster relief and help prevent errors that lead to incorrect notices being issued to affected taxpayers.
The AICPA’s recommendation would supplement the current IRS Disaster Hotline self-identification services and serve as a backup to the Individual Master File (IMF) and Business Master File (BMF) taxpayer accounts where the zip codes in affected taxpayers’ accounts do not readily indicate that such taxpayers are eligible for disaster relief.
The AICPA recommends that the IRS add a check box and space for the FEMA declaration number to the first page of the following non-exhaustive list of tax returns:
- The Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, series;
- The Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income, series;
- The Form 1120, U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return, series;
- The Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, series;
- The Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts, series;
- The Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, series;
- Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return.
“Although IRS systems automatically mark taxpayer accounts as eligible for disaster relief based upon zip codes from a disaster declaration, such methodology does not capture all eligible taxpayers,” says Daniel Hauffe, Senior Manager, AICPA Tax Policy & Advocacy. “The AICPA’s recommendations would serve as a backup to the IRS’s current automated process of identifying taxpayers eligible for disaster relief.”
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Tags: disaster assistance, disaster relief, fema, Income Taxes, IRS, Taxes
