Samantha Buck

Organize Your Income Tax Records in Three Easy Steps



Posted: Wednesday, February 18, 2009

by Samantha Buck
Life Organize It

Make a change this year and get a jump start on next year's taxes by getting organized. Having your income tax records organized and ready to go at tax time is the number one thing you can do to control your stress during tax time. The key is to get started organizing your income tax records now and it's so easy. Read on for three simple steps to organize your income tax records.

The best way to organize your income tax records is all year long! Organizing income tax records all year long may sound like a daunting task, but it really isn't. And, once tax time rolls around, all you'll have to do is grab your stuff and go to the accountant, or sit down at your computer and do it yourself with everything organized and laid out in front of you!

Just imagine, no last minute searching for W-2's, receipts, mortgage interest statements, etc. It will all be at your fingertips if you follow these three super easy steps.

First Step - Organize Your Income Tax Records

Create a folder at the beginning of each year to capture all of your tax related docs throughout the year. Label the folder "Tax" with the current year. For instance, this year you'd label it "Tax 2009". You can also use an accordion file if you like. The key is to file all of your tax related docs in this folder throughout the year.

Second Step - Know What Docs are Needed to File Your Income Taxes

Know what docs are needed to file your taxes and a tax preparation checklist works great for this purpose. Either write this tax preparation checklist on the inside of the file folder you keep all your tax docs in or include it on a separate piece of paper in the folder.

The documents for filing your income tax vary depending on your circumstances but, here's a basic tax preparation checklist:

Be sure to keep some proof of payment for all your deductible expenses. These could be invoices, credit cards receipts, canceled checks, sales slips, etc.

Third Step - File Your Income Taxes

If you don't use a professional accountant and decide to do your taxes yourself, then check out the ultimate tool for keeping your tax return organized - Intuit Turbo Tax 2008 Deluxe.

This tax preparation software leads you through the process of preparation and filing income taxes step by step. All you have to do is look at your neatly organized documents and input the data as the program prompts you. That's it!

Doing your taxes yourself with Turbo Tax costs around $40, which is hundreds of dollars cheaper than the typical accountant, and it also provides you with the tools to optimize your return getting you the most money back.

This year keep your income tax records organized and make tax time fast, easy, and most of all stress-free!

About the author: Samantha Buck is a Professional Organizer and Editor of http://www.LifeOrganizeIt.com, where you can find solutions to life's organizing dilemmas.

Subscribe to the free organizing magazine "Organize It Mom!" at http://www.lifeorganizeit.com/free-e-zine.html for super easy tips and techniques to get yourself organized. Not just for moms, this free organizing magazine will help anyone get organized!

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