Datarecovery.com Warns Computer Users to Back Up Tax Information

Pleasanton, CA, April 11, 2014 --(PR.com)-- The April 15th federal tax deadline is rapidly approaching, and experts believe that data loss will seriously complicate the filing process for thousands of electronic returns. Datarecovery.com, a world leader in data recovery services, warns computer users to back up important financial data throughout tax season.

"We receive several dozen tax-related cases every April," said Ben Carmitchel, President of Datarecovery.com. "Data loss is always problematic, but it's especially frustrating when our clients face tax penalties due to a hard drive issue or a RAID failure."

Millions of people depend on electronic devices while preparing their taxes. According to the IRS, more than 122 million electronic returns were filed in 2013, up from 119 million in 2012. More than 80 percent of all tax returns were filed electronically last year.

However, without an appropriate data backup strategy, computer users can suddenly lose access to their returns when using tax preparation programs. Businesses can lose access to payroll information, W-2s, 1099s and various other financial documents. Some popular tax preparation programs are Quickbooks®, Quicken®, and TurboTax®.

Hard drive failures account for the majority of incidents during the tax season, but Carmitchel notes that any digital system can lose data. Even on protected web servers, issues like file corruption and user error can cause permanent losses.

Datarecovery.com recommends keeping at least three digital copies of all important files. Each copy should be on a separate physical device with appropriate encryption to protect against unauthorized users.

According to the IRS, small businesses should keep tax records for seven years and individuals should keep tax records for at least three years.

"Back up your data unless you can afford to lose it," said Carmitchel. "We can recover most cases in less than a day, but we'd much rather help our clients avoid serious data loss in the first place."

Datarecovery.com is a world leader in data recovery and computer forensics. With four fully-equipped laboratories in Arizona, California, Illinois, and Toronto, the company provides a variety of services to thousands of clients each year. Visit www.datarecovery.com for more information.