Gather your documents for the tax season ahead!
Tax season is not exactly one of the most loved times of the year. Fortunately, with proper organization and early filing, you can make your tax season go by quickly and painlessly!
No matter how much assistance you get from tax accountants and programs, a great deal of the tax process relies heavily on you being organized. For some, this comes naturally, for others¦not so much (you know who you are). Before your tax appointment, here are some key ways to organize your document gathering:
- Gather your receipts: Large or small, potential deductions like charitable contributions or business expenses can add up. Even if you've never itemized deductions in the past, knowing the value potential deductions could determine whether you should begin itemizing this year.
- Make a list of income sources: Make a list of what you should be expecting by identifying all your income sources, from employers to banks to mutual funds, rather than relying on the random arrival of tax forms.
- Consider an IRA contribution: You can make an IRA contribution until the tax filing deadline, and still have it count for last year.
- Revisit your withholding instructions: Conventional wisdom has been to minimize withholding even if it means paying up at tax time because that way you'll have the money at your disposal throughout the year. With savings account interest rates near zero, it might be worth re-thinking this approach.
- Learn from it: Learn from your missing receipts or trouble calculating gains and losses on next year's tax return!
Hurrying to get all of this done before the deadline is sure to give you a headache/gray hairs/panic attack! Creating a process and organizing your time and documents ensures that you sail through tax season!
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