Tax-Time Tune-Up By Eve Abbott,
Organizer Extraordinaire Excerpted from new book, “How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain” TM The complete article with pictures and sample Auto Log is available at www.organize.comEvery year American companies lose millions of dollars in productivity to employees who end up taking personal time off to do their taxes. Whether you are filing by paper from just one W-2 or running multiple enterprises, streamlining now will payoff this year and in future.
Applying these proven Tax Time Tune-Up tips will save you time, frustration and could even save you money. Even if you only reduce your stress level – it’s worth it! Start today by getting an archive box or file crate to hold all your 2004 tax related files and forms.
If you have a good filing system, but you keep getting bogged down in old records: Every January, pull last year’s financial files, any business related expenses, proof of income and all tax related items. While you are taking 2004 files out, make replacement 2005 file folders for all of your regular home and business or personal financial and legal documents.
If you have no functioning filing system for your home (or business) I recommend you sort out your papers for 2004 tax and archives after setting up FileSolutions TM color-coded pre-printed file kit for 2005 that fits your current filing needs . (http://www.organize.com) That way you’ll have right place to put each item as you handle it. I use Home and Small Business FileSolutions TM kits in my own business, which makes it easy for me to guarantee satisfaction.
Tax Preparation Software: By using tax preparation software, you can finish your federal and state returns in about 90 minutes—if you’ve completed steps above. The software helps you find deductions, does math for you and tells you what you owe or what your refund will be. Use tax preparation software matched to your situation and financial software; there are several available (TaxCut, TurboTax, etc.).
I use TurboTax (by makers of Quicken) to do my own taxes. If I can do it – so can you! Then, I have a tax professional check my return for way less money than it would have cost me to have my business and personal taxes done by a tax professional.
Good News/Bad News: If your Adjusted Gross Income for 2004 is less than $28,000, or you qualify for Earned Income Tax Credit – go to http://www.taxfreedom.com and use Intuit’s TurboTax program online for FREE!
Online tax-preparation sites keep improving their do-it-yourself tax tools, ease of preparation and regular or e-filing expertise. These offer same process as desktop software does but, it is all done online. After products sift through your return for errors (and suggest tax-saving strategies), you can print your completed return or file it electronically.
The IRS likes electronically filed returns so much, in fact, that it's set up specific developers that provide free prep and filing to certain demographic groups. Go to www.irs.gov to see if you qualify.
