Tax Time, I hate it. However, there are a few things I do to prepare.
These sound almost too simplistic, but are important. I always have to relearn a couple of them each year. Hard to form good habits in this when it is only an annul occurrence.
Hope all of you do great financially this coming difficult year.
Source: This is just what I have learned to keep things simple while preparing taxes. I help raise four grand-daughters, and need to be organized as possible.
By Phyllis from Wisconsin
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great advice. we too follow the same path to prepare ours. one year my husband did everything perfect>but checked the wrong box as to where to recieve the refund and there was no going back to correct it so now we print out the sheet and do a test one to double check.
Very good advice. One that's helped me over the years is when you accumulate tax info. I have plastic folders that snap shut. The red one is for taxes (go figure) and all year long, anything I THINK might be tax deductable goes into that folder for the next time I do taxes. For those that use the long form, you won't believe how much stress that takes off you.
Good advise if you qualify, but I don't quality for free tax prep or free filing. With free file you have to have a modest enough income and a return that pretty basic.
All great tips, I'm especially loving the reminder to shut out the distractions; my dog is normally my shadow, but she takes a hike with Dad when it's tax time:)
The only other thing I'd add to these already comprehensive ideas would be--if you itemize on Schedule A rather than take the standard deduction--is to do your deduction totals monthly throughout the year instead of waiting until tax time to wade through piles of receipts. A little paperwork at the end of every month makes it easier to wallow through when it's time to sit down with your IRS forms.
I keep folders for each of my accounts and for deductions such as for charitable contributions. During the year, I download the data of each of them (some accounts aren't available past a month or so, meaning manual entry would be the alternative) and balance them monthly. I attempt to match the receipts at that time, although some of them trickle in later, for I track the sales tax paid, which is a chore I choose to avail myself of due to the standard deduction being so much less vis-a-vis my state's sales taxes that peak at 10%.
I use TurboTax, which goes on sale the middle of every January at Costco for $10 off. I get started as early as possible, but never attempt to do it all in one sitting. I write notes along the way for things requiring more research. It's a methodical approach that works for me. It's always a great feeling to get done, but if there's time, I sit on it a few days and come back to it with a clearer mind. One might even try explaining it to someone else!
Just want to ask
I reconcile my Credit Card bill with EVERY receipt I can hold onto. I enter the sales tax onto my spreadsheet and have been taking that as a deductible.
I used to put everything for our checking account on Quicken, and then I'd print out totals for anything deductible when we did our taxes.
Since we bank on-line, I've found that I can get those reports myself on my bank site, and there's no reason to put everything on Quicken anymore.
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