Stop putting off paying your taxes til the last minute. If you want the best tax return you must start early to make sure that your get all the deductions that you deserve. Your personal tax return should not by rushed. So to help you get started here is a list of things you should do to get your ready.
First, schedule a time to start filing your tax return and stick with it. Turn off your TV and radio and focus on the job at hand. Gather all the files you need and have some type of tax return help available to you. With the rules for income tax returns constantly changing you need to have all your help at your finger tips.
Decide whether your personal tax return will be filed as single, head of house hold, married or what ever. Play around with this to see what would be best for you. You also want to play close attention to the types of deductions you will have such as pensions and IRAs, alimony, student loans and others. Don’t for get to itemize your deductions and compare them to the standard deductions to see which one is best. You want to make sure that you take the higher amount here.
Your exemptions can help you get more out of your income tax return. If you have issues with who can file the children as dependence then get this solved now. You both can’t file for them at the same time. A tax credit per child is a dollar for dollar deduction and you need to get this worked out. Plus, there are also credits for education, adoption, even foreign taxes and estimated taxes you may need to consider as well.
Once you do all of that you then have to decide how to file your taxes. Are you are going to e-file or put it in the mail. Filing online will help you get your tax return faster but by mail you can have your check directly deposited. Just have to send in a voided blank check. No matter what you decide just get it filed. Do do all that hard work to get a income tax return only to put off getting it to the IRS.
Last but not least, get some type of receipt after you file. Your tax return could get lost and if it does you will be on the hook. If you file a tax return online they should give you some type of code to keep with your records. You can also file your person tax return by certified mail. That way you have some proof that you filed incase it doesn’t get there.
Now that you got your personal income tax return all taken care of you can relax a bit. If you need more help with your taxes you can always file an amendment to last years taxes next year. There is always time to get it right if you plan ahead first.