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Provincial Quebec Sales Tax Article:
Uncle Sam is
Ready...Are You? Organizing Tips for Tax Time
by: Stacey Agin Murray
Anyone who is closely related to an accountant knows that there are
not four, but five seasons in a year: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter,
and 'Tax Season.' During the other seasons, we accumulate leaves,
snow, and mosquito bites. During 'Tax Season' we accumulate paper.
And more paper. And if you have a small business or
investments--even more paper.
Whether you hire someone to prepare your taxes or attempt to
decipher the forms yourself, it is imperative that your papers be in
order for this 'fifth season.' Organizing your tax-related documents
is not just a project for the evening of April 13th. Good tax
organization is a year-round process.
Some pitfalls of being disorganized at tax time:
You run the risk of misplacing important receipts/documents
You feel stressed from the mad dash to the tax preparer/post office
on April 14th
Your tax preparer may charge you more money if they have to spend
time wading through your piles of loose receipts.
How to remedy these tax-time situations? Prepare now for next year
by getting organized!
Set up an all-year round file system
Designate a box, accordion file, or a file cabinet for year-round
paper storage and retrieval. Create folders for receipts, credit
card and bank statements, anything you have spent money on or need
to keep track of for tax purposes. As you acquire such documents,
place them in the appropriately labeled folder. This is beneficial
not only for tax time but for when you have to retrieve certain
papers throughout the year.
Give your tax-related papers a home
Every January, our mailboxes become flooded with documents necessary
for filing your taxes. At the beginning of the year, designate a
large envelope or box in one area of your home or a file in your
file cabinet for these papers. Examples of these are:
W2's
1099's
Mortgage interest statements
Bank interest statements
Real estate tax statements
Investment statements
Receipts for charitable donations
Sort and create categories for your papers/receipts
By early February you should have received all paperwork necessary
to complete your taxes. Take that envelope/box/file of collected
papers and sort them by category. This process will enable you or
your tax preparer to quickly locate your papers and receipts. Some
basic categories are:
Salary
Real Estate
Medical
Childcare
Investments
Save your tax preparer aggravation by throwing away the envelopes
that your statements came in and tear off the perforated edges from
your income statements. Group the documents into the categories
you’ve created and paper clip them together. Place all of these
papers in a folder or large envelope.
Call your tax preparer early
If you're using a tax preparer, call in January to schedule a mid to
late February tax appointment. Doing this forces you to organize and
compile all the necessary information by that date. Also,
accountants get very busy as April 15th approaches. You don’t want
an exhausted accountant doing your taxes...
Being organized at tax time will give you greater control over the
tax preparation process. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, you will
feel a sense of calm and accomplishment. Instead of frantically
searching for documents you will be able to produce them at a
moment’s notice. Instead of your accountant cursing your name,
he/she will sing your praises when you present them with an envelope
of organized papers and receipts.
The sooner you get organized for tax time the sooner you may get
that big refund check. If that’s not motivation enough, I don’t
know what is...
About The Author
Stacey Agin Murray, professional organizer and owner of Organized
Artistry, LLC, transforms mess into masterpiece with patience,
organizing know-how, and a sense of humor. For a free e-list of Top
Ten Tips for Organized Living, or to order your copy of 7 Steps to
an Organized Wedding Thank You Note please visit her web site at
http://www.organizedartistry.com.
stacey@organizedartistry.com
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