Tax Season

This is a time of year that is common to us all.  For some people it is a great time of joy and expectations.  Mainly, because they know there is a big return coming their way.  But for others it is a time of sadness and distress. This latter group, primarily, are those who have promised that same return to four or five different people for the purpose of settling a debt.  Either way most of us will be involve the tax season weather we like or not. It is like a birthday that comes every year at the same time; the prize is sometimes good, and sometimes bad. 

We will cover some general practices that maybe help us taxpayer and nice to know information for others. Well to start with we should try to prepared our taxes well ahead of time before our returns are do, even if we are doing our taxes ourself. Most tax places provide a general check off list to help ensure that we are ready to get our taxes done.  

Some of those things on the general check off sheet are, all W-2s, any 1099r forms, house interest form, bank interest statements also, if we are itemizing we need a list of all deductible receipts that we want to get credit for. 

There is a standing joke among many people that we all hear from time to time. In light moment, usually after a short story or humorous situation someone will say yea, you know man its just like death and taxes. Another words what we are talking about can’t be avoid; it is going to happen or take place. Usually this statement is followed by a long sigh. 

Back to our discussion, let us cover some other facts about taxes. The deadline for filing our income taxes is usually around mid April.  That gives us a good couple of months after the beginning of the year to get everything together. Now if for some reasons we are unable to get everything or for some other reason, i.e. maybe traveling and we just can’t meet the dead line, we can request for a extension by submitting Form 4868.

Need receipt help, here is another use for that old shoe box in the corner or closet. Take a shoe box and write receipts on the end. Instead agonizing of over weather this or that receipt is deductible, just throw all of them in the shoe box and at the end to the year look through the box to sort out what might be relevant receipts. I heard this process talked about before on a business tape.  This way we only rack our brain one time.

What’s next? I recommend that if we are not good at doing our taxes that we get someone else who is or a company with proven track record.  It does not take long to look down the pages of history or to the local and nation wide papers to find numerous people catch in the teeth of the tax system as it sneezes every bit blood out of their, excuse the expression, backside or hind parts.  Please, use a company with a good reputation, as the cliché goes you will be glad you did. 

Here is a side note to our topic. And I will offer no opinion one way or another though I do have one. Some people believe we should pay no taxes at all.  To this I will say nothing.

Lastly, the subject of taxes can be addressed on many fronts but today we have focused mainly on our yearly tax filing duties. It is advised and prudent to check every year for any slight change to the tax rules and codes.  From what I have seen there is usually some kind of change to our tax codes from time to time.  I do have one more humorous tax saying that we here for occasionally, you better watch out because the tax man cometh.