How to Ensure You’re Prepared for Tax Season

When was the last time you gave any thought to tax season prior to April?  It’s always that last minute crunch to get everything gathered and over to your CPA’s office with barely enough time to sign the paperwork and make your payment before that dreaded April 15^th deadline. Well, tax season does not have to be that stressful every year. There are ways to prepare your tax information prior to the deadline and efforts you can make to increase your refund or diminish your tax debt. In this post, I am going to educate you on these actions you can take to decrease your stress in April.

1. Make sure your withholdings are correct. Are you claiming enough? Are you paying in the correct amount so that, come April 15^th, you don’t owe a massive sum to the government that you are not prepared for?
2. Know your deductions. Do you own your own home? Are you still paying off student loans? Have you done any volunteering? Did you make any donations, cash or non-cash? These are just a few of the ways you can use deductions to help trim the income you will have to pay taxes on. Educating yourself on what you can use as a deduction will make it that much easier throughout the year to keep records of such and be prepared to submit everything when the time comes to gather your tax information.
3. Make sure you are taking advantage of your HSA. Individuals are eligible to contribute $3,400 to $6,750 for families per year. This number increases by $1,000 when you turn 55 as well.
4. Know the benefits of having a 401K. Money that you contribute to your 401K will lower your taxable income, therefore saving you income tax. This way, you are saving for your retirement and saving on taxes today.
5. Make sure you submit the proper information. If you are working with a tax professional, you want to be sure you give them all the pertinent forms. For example, if you have health insurance coverage but neglect to submit your 1095-B, you will be subject to large penalties.

I hope this has helped educate you on how you can prepare yourself for tax season. In addition to the benefits shared above, you will also save yourself the stress and anxiety of waiting until the last minute to prepare all your paperwork and information.

For more information and tax planning tips, visit our website: www.accouting-offices.net.  We also offer free consultations if you are looking to work with a tax professional.

Mrs. Arlyce Cleveland is the President and sole shareholder of Arlyce Cleveland, Ltd., conveniently located in the Twin Cities area. Over the past twenty-seven years, Arlyce has worked to educate and train business owners about the importance of understanding their financials and planning for where they want their business to be in one, five, and ten years. She knows the biggest problem with business owners is that they don’t plan to fail; they just fail to plan.

Before starting Arlyce Richardson, Ltd., Arlyce worked in the private sector for nine years as CFO of a manufacturing company and Controller of a communications company. She has also been published in and is a lifetime member of The National Registry of Who’s Who.