Miscellaneous

Don’t carry your Social Security card or any documents with your SSN or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) on it.
Don’t give a business your SSN or ITIN just because they ask. Give it only when required.
Protect your financial information. Check your credit report every 12 months.
Secure personal information in your home.
Protect your personal computers by using firewalls, anti-spam/virus software, update security patches and change passwords for Internet accounts.
Don’t give personal information over the phone, through the mail or on the Internet unless you have initiated the contact or you are sure you know who you are dealing with.

If your tax records are not currently affected by identity theft, but you believe you may be at risk due to a lost or stolen purse or wallet, questionable credit card activity or credit report, contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 800-908-4490, extension 245 (Mon. - Fri., 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. local time; Alaska & Hawaii follow Pacific Time).

The IRS toll-free disaster assistance telephone number, 1-866-562-5227, if you are a hurricane victim with specific questions about tax relief or disaster related tax issues.

The IRS is providing help to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Special tax relief and assistance is available to taxpayers in the Presidential Disaster Areas.
So far, the IRS filing and payment relief applies to the following localities identified by FEMA for Individual Assistance due to Hurricane Sandy:
In Connecticut: Fairfield, Middlesex, New Haven, and New London Counties and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and Mohegan Tribal Nation located within New London County;
In Maryland: Somerset County
In New Jersey: Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren;
In New York: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Sullivan, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester;
In Rhode Island: Newport and Washington counties.
Other locations may be added in coming days based on additional damage assessments by FEMA.

For information on disaster recovery, individuals should visit disasterassistance.gov or http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Help-for-Victims-of-Hurricane-Sandy

Qualified disaster relief payments made to individuals by their employers or any other person may be excluded from those individuals’ taxable income.
Employer-sponsored private foundations may provide disaster relief to affected employees without endangering their tax-exempt status.

The IRS will waive the usual fees and expedite requests for copies of previously filed tax returns for affected taxpayers.
Taxpayers should put the assigned Disaster Designation in red ink at the top of Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, or Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return, as appropriate, and submit it to the IRS.

Yes. Members of the armed forces serving in a combat zone which is considered tax free can contribute to Traditional and Roth IRA plans.

Veteran status is needed for Federal financial aid purposes when determining dependency status. A veteran is a former member of the US Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard) who served on active duty and was discharged other than dishonorably, meaning: received an honorable or medical discharge. You are a veteran even if you serve just one day on active duty, (not active duty for training before receiving your DD-214 and formal discharge papers). In order for a veteran to be eligible for VA educational benefits, they must have served for more than 180 consecutive days on active duty before receiving an honorable discharge. There are exceptions for participation in Desert Storm/Desert Shield and other military campaigns.) ROTC students, members of the National Guard, and most reservists are not considered veterans. Since the 1995-96 academic year, a person who was discharged other than dishonorably from one of the military service academies (the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy at Annapolis, the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs or the Coast Guard Academy at New London) is considered a veteran for financial aid purposes. Cadets and midshipmen who are still enrolled in one of the military service academies, however, are not considered veterans. According to the US Department of Education's Action Letter #6 (February 1996), "a student who enrolls in a service academy, but who withdraws before graduating, is considered a veteran for purposes of determining dependency status". Having a DD-214 does not necessarily mean that you are a veteran for financial aid purposes. As noted above, you must have served on active duty and received an honorable discharge.