4 Tips to Help You Prepare for Tax Season, Ep #156

Tis the season to prepare your taxes!

Whether you do your own taxes or you are gathering information for your tax preparer, you’ll want to make sure that you don’t miss a thing. Listen to this episode to ensure that you think about everything you need to do to prepare this year’s tax documents.

Don’t miss the obvious

As you start your tax preparation journey by gathering documents and ensuring that you have everything in order, you may end up forgetting the obvious. Did you move in 2021? You’ll need to report the sale of your prior home if that was the case. 

Also, if you use tax preparation software, be careful with the autofill feature. If you have used it before, your tax software will automatically fill in the information that you used last year. It is important to type in the correct address so that you don’t miss any communication with the IRS. 

Gather all the pertinent information

If you changed jobs in 2021 you may have multiple W2s. Make sure that you have them all together before you start your tax preparations. You’ll also want to look out for the forms if you made any 401K or Roth rollovers. 

For the 2021 tax season, you’ll need to look out for the usual documents like W2s, 1099s, 1098s, or K1s, but you’ll also need to be watching out for the letter from the IRS if you received an advanced child tax credit. If you did receive an advance on your child tax credit, you may or may not receive any more or you may have to pay some of it back depending on your income in 2021. 

Once you have your list of docs how do you get ready?

Once you have all of your documents ready, then it is time to start thinking outside the box. Do you have your receipts or transaction history for charitable donations? What about real estate and property tax forms? Do you have a record of how much you spent on child or dependent care? Make sure to have a record of any crypto transactions and business and rental expenses. 

Having this information together will decrease the legwork when the time comes to file your taxes.

Kickstart better record keeping

Not all financial advisors focus on tax preparation, but at Financial Symmetry, we see tax season as an opportunity to generate ideas to improve your financial situation. Whether it is through improving your tax situation or taking advantage of missed opportunities, tax preparation is something we focus on to enhance your today and enrich your tomorrow. 

Our clients have the opportunity to use the document vault in our Client Center portal as a type of digital file cabinet. Keeping documents together like this takes away some of the anxiety surrounding tax season. 

Once you get everything you need together, take a step back and reflect. If you haven’t been keeping the best records now is a good time to implement a system to help you stay organized. 

Listen in to hear how we can help you prepare for the upcoming tax season and beyond as Financial Symmetry clients. You’ll also hear why it doesn’t always make sense to file early. Learn why sometimes filing for an extension could be a better option. 

Outline of This Episode

• Did you move in 2021? [2:21]
• Did you receive the child tax credit in 2021? [5:52]
• Once you have your list how do you get ready? [9:48]
• You don't always have to file as soon as you can [13:27]

Resources & People Mentioned

• Episode 146 - Financial Milestones that Create Opportunities 
• Episode 72 - 7 Tax Reform Opportunities and How to Spot Them

Connect With Chad and Mike

• https://www.financialsymmetry.com/podcast-archive/ 
• Connect on Twitter @csmithraleigh @TeamFSINC
• Follow Financial Symmetry on Facebook

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