Miscellaneous

If you receive a notice from IRS and you suspect your identity has been used fraudulently, respond immediately by calling the number on the notice.
If you did not receive a notice but believe you’ve been the victim of identity theft, contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 800-908-4490, extension 245 right away so we can take steps to secure your tax account and match your SSN or ITIN.
Also, fill out the IRS Identity Theft Affidavit, Form 14039. Please write legibly and follow the directions on the back of the form that relate to your specific circumstances.

In addition to contacting the IRS, you should take additional steps with agencies outside the IRS:
Report incidents of identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.ftc.gov or the FTC Identity Theft hotline at 877-438-4338 or TTY 866-653-4261.
File a report with the local police.
Contact the fraud departments of the three major credit bureaus:Equifax – www.equifax.com, 800-525-6285, Experian – www.experian.com, 888-397-3742, TransUnion – www.transunion.com, 800-680-7289Br> •Close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

For victims of identity theft who have previously been in contact with the IRS and have not achieved a resolution to their case, they can contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit, toll-free, at 800-908-4490.
If victims can’t get their issue resolved and are experiencing financial difficulties, contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service toll-free at 877-777-4778.

For victims of identity theft who have previously been in contact with the IRS and have not achieved a resolution to their case, they can contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service toll-free at 877-777-4778.

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.

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.

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.

Affected taxpayers in a federally declared disaster area have the option of claiming disaster-related casualty losses on their federal income tax return for either this year or last year.
Claiming the loss on an original or amended return for last year will get the taxpayer an earlier refund, but waiting to claim the loss on this year’s return could result in a greater tax saving, depending on other income factors.
Individuals may deduct personal property losses that are not covered by insurance or other reimbursements.
For details, see Form 4684 and its instructions.

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