How To Prep for Tax Season

 

Tax season is about to begin and now is the perfect time to get started with it.  Take advantage of this time to get yourself organized, make lists, and gather everything you'll need to file when you receive the documents in the mail so you can get started right away. 



First, you may be wondering why you need to start now.... well, first of all, you have time now.  You will likely have a lull after the holidays to start working on gathering all the documents you need for tax time.  Additionally, if you're owed a refund, you can get it sooner if you file as soon as possible! Who wants to sit around and wait? 

 

Make a List

First, you need to make a list of all the things you'll need for your expenses and your income.  Find a sheet of paper and write down all of the W2s or 1099s that you'll need to wait for in the mail.   Then make a list of action steps you need to take like adding up expenses, and obtaining paperwork for them.  This gives you a nice schedule and plan of attack for your taxes. 

 

Gather Everything

Make sure you start doing that hard work of gathering all receipts, adding things up and categorizing them, and even getting the income documentation together.  Keep things clipped together by category and make notes to attach to certain things if they need explained. This makes it so much easier at tax time so you don't need to figure it out all over again, just read your notes. 

Start Getting Tracking Sheets Up To Date

Ensure any tracking sheets you have for income and expenses are complete, detailed, and accurate.  You should also start preparing your 2022 sheets so that you can begin using them as soon as January 1st comes.  It's best to do this stuff NOW than wait till halfway through next year. You never know what expenses or income you may miss if you do it in a rush. 

Decide How You'll File

If you take your taxes to someone else to do, contact them now to make an appointment for sometime in the beginning of the next year. If you are going to do it yourself with software, decide which software you'll use.  A lot of them let you start early so you can atleast plug some things in now as you wait for important tax documents to come in the mail during January and February.  If you are able to start early, do it! It's great to get a glance at what kind of return you are owed, or how much you'll need to pay. 

Research

Look up the kind of expenses you can take advantage of depending on your business or job.  If you are a blogger, check out these blogging expenses you can write off! It's also a good time to research stuff like this now so you can be on top of the game in 2022 as you make note of expenses that you can write off for 2022 taxes! 

Are you going to get a head start this year?

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