Get Organized: Your Accountant Will Thank You! [Video]

by Stephen Smalenberger, EA / February 19, 2018

 

 

It’s that time of year when you’re thinking about filing your tax return.  I don’t know how many times I’ve seen someone bring in a box of unopened mail or receipts and give it to their accountant.  What if you came in earlier, organized, and understanding your situation?  How much better would things be?  If that interests you and that caught your attention then this is for you.

You may be completing a tax organizer from your accountant, drafting an email, or putting all of these things in a folder.

Here are five main areas to get organized:

1. Personal:

Write these things down as there aren’t any tax documents to support these:

  • Have you moved or had a child?
  • Has your marital status changed?
  • Are you supporting an older family member?

2. Work:

If you’re employed, self-employed, have rental properties collect the following items:

  • Employed:  A W-2 for each of your jobs
  • Self-Employed:  Put together a profit and loss report, showing all the inflows and outflows, income and expenses for the year.
  • Rental Properties:  Put together a summary showing your income and expenses related to those.

3. Investments:

  • 1099’s showing interest and dividends

4. Retirement:

  • 1099’s for withdrawals or distributions from retirement accounts
  • Pension payments received
  • Social Security benefits received
  • Provide information for IRA contributions you’ve made
  • Provide information for any roth conversions completed

5. Deductions:

  • Medical expenses paid out of pocket that aren’t reimbursed by insurance
  • Home: collect property tax payments, mortgage interest statement
  • Charitable contribution donation receipts and acknowledgements
  • Compile Receipts and a summary of Non-Cash donations for items like clothing or furniture to the Salvation Army or Goodwill

This is a quick summary of a few types of documents to gather.  If you want a more comprehensive list visit our website to download that.  We hope that will help you gather your documents, understand your situation, and help your accountant file your return earlier.

Ready to take the next step?

Schedule a quick call with our financial advisors.

Recommended Reading

Fee Only Financial Advisors in Deer Park on Restricted Stock Unit taxes

Strategies for Restricted Stock Unit Taxes [Video]

In this video, we breakdown the types of RSU vesting schedules and different strategies for handling Restricted Stock Unit taxes.

Experienced Fiduciary Fee Only Financial Advisors in Chicago

Strategies for Early Retirement Healthcare [Video]

Early retirement healthcare can be tricky. This video explains your health insurance options before age 65 and Medicare.

Posted in

Stephen Smalenberger, EA

Steve enjoys getting to know clients and hear their unique stories and the lessons learned which has brought them where they are today. One of the reasons he enjoys what he does is the ability to show the outcome that can be achieved with different choices. He also enjoys continually learning.