Skip to main content

Tuesday Time to Tackle: Taxes!

I hope that by the time this post is published, my tax return will be filed and I can be back to working on fun projects.  It's amazing just how much time and mental effort goes into completing tax returns!  I'm not about to give any tax advice, but I do have organizational tips that might help tax preparation go easier next year.



First of all, you need to be familiar with your particular return requirements, so you know what paperwork to save throughout the year.  Do you itemize deductions?  Own a business?  Have investments?  If you know which documents you need, you can be saving throughout the year.

Once you know what you need to save, create a designated place in which to keep all the paperwork.  It doesn't have to be fancy; I just use a plain manila folder.  I also have folders set up on my computer for digital copies of pertinent information.  (I find this particularly useful for internet purchases on which my state requires payment of use tax.)

With your folders ready, you just need to add your paperwork to them.  Throughout the year, anytime you have a receipt or other document that you will need come April 15th, add it to your folder.  You might even want to jot down why you need to save that particular paper, if it isn't clear. 

Depending on your situation, you might need more than one folder, but the general concept is the same:  know what you need, have a designated place to store it, and file as you go. 

Whether you do your own taxes, use a software program, or hire a tax preparer, your job will be much easier if you don't have to hunt for paperwork at tax filing time. 

Do you have any organizational tips to make tax season easier?

Thanks for math teachers and calculators!


Photobucket Sew Darn Crafty Party, Find a Friend Friday, Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop, Show Your Stuff, The Wildly Original Link Party, Wow Us Wednesdays, Down Home Blog Hop, Tuesday Archive Link Up, Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River, Grandparents Say It Saturday

Pin It

Comments

  1. UGH, please don't even mention taxes! UGH

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree that organization is the key to preparing and filing taxes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You just reminded me.... Yikes I have to get all the receipts and go through them all...
    don't like doing taxes.. We never get any return..
    have a good day..

    ReplyDelete
  4. We have a business and tax time is so UGH. I go a tax preparer and this year I decided that I would list my expense amounts in the same order he asks for the information - so that next year we can just go down the line. I hope that makes sense.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I finished getting my stuff together yesterday and mailed it to the preparer. It takes about two to three hours even though it's all saved and organized in one place. I can't imagine what would happen if I didn't know where everything was. Oh my!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Things of Thankful: Autumn Edition

It's autumn time, one of my favorite times of year.  I just couldn't leave this weekend as a one-post weekend.  

Ten Things of Thankful: Last Two Weeks

  Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from an overlook I apologize for not commenting on your blog posts this past week; John and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park, leaving behind our computers and, to a large extent, cell phone service. We escaped the outside world and just spent time in nature. Though we have friends near Yellowstone (who we love to visit) we made this trip just about us, so please forgive us if we were nearby and didn't stop by. The crowds were minimal (though we did mask up whenever we passed someone on the trails) and we spent our days hiking, taking photos, and watching geysers erupt. Today, we are back home and back to work, and, in the case of my computer, back to old shenanigans like not letting me import my photos. (I was able to add the above photo by using blogger on my phone, but that isn't my preferred method.) I want to write about Yellowstone and have photos I want to share, but will leave that for another

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this