It’s almost the end of January already! It’s time to get your books in order, if you haven’t already done so. Your accountant will soon have a tax organizer out to you, so dust off your file cabinets and start pulling together the following documents:
- Charitable contribution letters
- W-2s
- 1099s
- Mortgage documentation
- Itemized medical deductions
- Deductible travel (including medical)
- Dividends
- Social Security payments
- Capital gains
K-1s don’t usually come in until March or April, sometimes later. Your accountant will have a plan for proceeding with your taxes without them. In my experience, it’s better to just send your CPA what you have instead of waiting. The prevailing wisdom in my LinkedIn network is that showing up at your accountant’s office in early February, with whatever you have, will ensure the smoothest tax season.
If your books are a years-long mess, now is the time to start putting in those hours. The most common thing people forget to do all year is reconcile, or balance, their accounts. I know people who have been brought to literal tears trying to reconcile wild bank accounts. From my point of view, if you haven’t done anything all year, you should hire a professional. You may not have realized it yet, but you’re in too deep.
We can help you get everything organized. We can help to check for any “leaks” — things that you might have signed up for, or you forgot about, that always remember you. Most importantly we can create a system for you that makes conscientious record keeping easy.
To learn more, contact us.
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