Tax Prep Made Easier
Every year, I make my ‘tax document checklist.’ It’s crude but effective.
I take out a blank sheet of paper, write ‘Tax stuff’ at the top, then write down all the documents I expect to come my way that I’ll need to file and hope I don’t leave something out.
I should probably have a better system, so this is my effort to improve. Below I’ve listed the things that are typically on my tax document list. Yours may be longer or shorter. If you find it useful, here’s the list in PDF format.
Income
I break the list down into two, not very original sublists. Income’s the first one. (Bonus points if you can guess the second.)
- W-2s - Think hard about any second job’s you’ve had during the year. If you’ve changed primary employment, you’ll be getting a couple as well.
- Bank interest 1099-INTs - This one can be tough if you have accounts all over the place trying to ‘optimize’ your banking. Me, I just do everything at USAA.
- Stock dividend 1099-DIVs. Whether through a mutual fund, or by owning individual stocks. You get one from each fund company or brokerage house. What a pain.
- 1099G for state/local income tax refund
- Miscellaneous income - Again, tricky. It’s easy to forget some of these. Just a few: prizes, scholarships, jury duty pay, unemployment benefits.
Expenses
- Mortgage interest statement
- Real estate tax statement
- Student loan interest paid
- Gifts to charity
- Education expenses (post-secondary education)
- Child care expenses
- Miscellaneous expenses - Could include moving expenses, expenses related to looking for employment, volunteer work, tax prep, home office (if you’re taking that deduction)
I’ve left off stuff from this list because it’s my list. But since I’m a regular kind of guy, I think it suffices for many people. Besides, if you’re claiming farm income or trust income, you probably aren’t doing your own taxes anyway. That said, if there are any glaring omissions, please leave a comment and let me know.
records taxes
January 30th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
That’s about what I do too. This year I’m going to have to round up all my W-2s. Some will be sent to my parents’ house and some here. It won’t be pretty…there’s at least 4.
January 30th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
medical expenses ?
January 30th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
January 30th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
January 31st, 2008 at 7:33 am
I didn’t include medical expenses since for most people they don’t come close to the 7.5% of AGI required to count as a deduction.
February 3rd, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Things might be faster if you used last years as a guide for quick and easy reference
February 4th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
For the first time I’m waiting for my bank to issue my mortgage interest statement…normally it’s the first item I get. Also have used TaxAct the last few years to do my taxes…I’ve found it pretty easy to use especially when running a business.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:36 am
Every year, I make my ‘tax document checklist.’ It’s crude but effective. I think thats a good methode to know how you invest your money…
Thanks for comment.