Organizing for Easier Tax Prep

Now that everyone has had adequate time to recover from the holiday season and adjust to the new year, it’s time to look forward. It is time to start getting ready to file your taxes!
We know a lot of people dread this task every year, but it’s not as awful you think. Get a jump on organizing everything you will need and avoid the unnecessary stress. Here are two things you can do now, in preparation, to save yourself later.



The first thing is for those of you who may not have kept track of things as well as you could have over the past year, to sit down and go over it all. Start adding up all of your deductions. You will want to log things such as work related milage, travel and entertainment expenses. Have you paid for child care, work materials, permit fees or made any charitable contributions? Check the IRS website to find a complete list of all 2015 deductions. Make a complete list so you are ready when it come times for you to file.

Next step is even more simple. As you receive all of the documents relating to your finances for the previous year, keep them all together. Designate a space, file, or folder - whatever you know will work for you. File away all the statements from your bank, employer, any rental properties, partnerships or other income. If organizations you donated too send you paperwork, keep those as well. Store these all together, so once again, you will be saved the trouble of hunting them down as the deadline looms closer.

Whether you file your own taxes, or have someone take care of your accounting, you will not regret getting organized ahead of time.