It's Tax Time AGAIN! Are You Ready?

Buried in piles of unsorted mail and household papers is all the important data you need to prepare your taxes and now you have to find it all. Every tax season you vow to do it differently, but without a system in place you will fall into the same chaos next April. Follow these tips in the coming year to take control of your tax papers so you don't have the same problem next year!

• Place deduction documentation in envelopes. Label each envelope by subject. For example: charitable contributions, medical expenses, business expenses, etc.


• If you have a hard time getting those receipts to your file cabinet, write "taxes" and the current year at the top when you receive a receipt for a deductible item. This will remind you not to toss it when sorting through receipts at a later date.


• Use a mileage diary or smartphone apps such as MileBug or Trip Cubby to keep track of the miles you travel.


• The IRS requires that you keep a receipt from donations to charitable organizations. It must show the name of the organization, the date and the location, description of the property, and a fair market value of each item. We love to use the Salvation Army's donation valuation guide at www.satruck.com/donation-value-guide to estimate the fair market value. TurboTax also supples a free donation evaluator called "It's Deductible"


• For those short on time, consider using http://www.shoeboxed.com/ . Monthly subscribers receive a postage-paid envelope to fill with receipts. The company scans the receipts into a software program and inserts it into a spreadsheet you can access online.


• And of course my favorite....Neat receipts. Neat receipts is a mobile scanner that allows you to scan receipts and load them onto your computer. http://www.neat.com/
  

There is more than one way to control your tax papers. If all else has failed, contact us at http://www.theartoforder.net/ or theartoforder@verizon.net so we can access your situation and find a solution that will work for you. With our help, even you can gain control of your tax documents! Also, contact us if you have questions on deciding what papers to keep and for how long.