Some Little Things

With the recent flooding in Texas, we are seeing stark reminders of how quickly our lives can be forever affected by things that are completely outside of our control.

​When such things happen, there is some relief offered by the IRS. Granted, this isn’t relief of a sort that you suddenly don’t have to pay as many taxes as you thought, but it does postpone various deadlines, so as some people try to move on with too many worries hanging over them, it at least removes some.

As a little reminder here, too, it is not only the giant disasters that cause the IRS to give some of this relief. Granted, these affect a smaller amount of people over a smaller area, but if you think  you may have be in such an area, it can be worth checking out the agency’s list of disaster relief areas at www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-relief-in-disaster-situations.

To me, taking advantage of this disaster relief is part of taking care of yourself in the small ways. It clearly is not going to fix a lot of what some people are going through, but if you can embrace enough smaller acts, they start to add up and make a difference.

The same type of dynamic is at work when it comes to personal security and protecting personal information. Another IRS help that is offered in this area is the ability to get an identity protection PIN (IP PIN). This is a rather simple concept of a six-digit number that is provided to you by the IRS that will be necessary to file a tax return. This will keep anyone else from submitting a return using your social security number. You can even do this now ahead of next tax season on the IRS website.

And again, this also isn’t some life-changing concept, but it could be enough to add some extra comfort and help you feel better about what will happen when you do file your return.

A final small thing to keep in mind in this area is to not stop paying attention to the news now that the Big, Beautiful Bill has been signed into law. As I said in this space last week, that passage unfortunately doesn’t mean we know exactly how everything in it is going to play out. But if you keep an ear open to what is happening, you will be best prepared when it is time to do something about it. And this doesn’t have to be a constant thing, just don’t be shut off now that it’s over.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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