January Tax Prep Tips
April 15 is still far off, but if you start taking action now, you may save yourself a lot of trouble in the last minute. Enjoy these timely advices from MarketWatch.com.
- Get organized. Put every tax-related piece of paper in a single location.
- Make an appointment. If you will hire someone to prepare you tax return, make your appointment as early as possible.
- Decide whether you'll take the state sales tax or state income tax deduction. Plenty of information here and here.
- Check out tax preparation software. If you plan to DIY, start your shopping for software now.
- Review changes to tax laws.
From my experience, start early always helps. If you will prepare your tax return on your own, you can have three full months to play your taxes in your software. The extra time helps to find hidden tax rules that can slash your taxes by hundreds of dollars, as well as to avoid last-minute mistakes.
Another timely article from Bankrate reminds us of the tax forms we should collect -- no matter we decide to file by our own or use tax pros. Below is a quick breakdown: Read
No one will beg for an IRS audit of tax return, and you can do certain things to reduce your chance of being selected. Before you start working on your tax, take a look at some tips offered by Andrew Blackman from WSJ. Read
Back in October, I reported that in 2004 and 2005, people can claim state sales tax deduction form their federal income tax forms. This new law especially benefits those who live in the states of no state income tax, namely Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota ... Read
Now it is year-end tax planning time again! Especially for people with some exposure in stock markets, what you do in the next three weeks may have a huge impact on how much tax you should pay for tax year 2004. Especially, if you own ... Read
