Preparing Taxes? How to Keep Your Cool
Who actually enjoys filing their taxes? I suppose if you’re expecting a fat refund, you may be eager to get a jump on the paperwork. But, in general, it’s not exactly our favorite pastime. To ease the burden, I’ve partnered with Office Depot – a one-stop shop for all your tax preparation needs – to provide some essential tips on ways to prepare and file your taxes smoothly this year.
Don’t Go It Alone. It’s easy to make mistakes when filing your taxes solo. Invest in some assistance to not only ensure you make no errors, but also to maximize on all the tax credits and deductions you may forgot to claim on your own. You can find a wide array of tax software like Intuit’s Turbo Tax, where you can compile and file your taxes online with the click of your finger. For consumers who would rather stay offline, Office Depot also has all the tax forms you need to successfully file the more traditional way.
Take Smart Steps Now to Make Life Easier in 2014. Start preparing for next year, now. Small business owners, for example, can stay ahead of tax season by utilizing Intuit’s QuickBooks, a critical tool to help them run their business and prepare their taxes. You can also automate as many of your financial responsibilities as possible for easier tracking.
Clear the Clutter. When in doubt about what to keep and what to toss, I stick to the 1-3-6 rule. Monthly statements from your bank, insurance company, utility company, keep for one year until you get the annual statement and you can shred all the monthly statements. Tax paperwork, keep for 3 years since that’s typically the time frame the IRS uses to audit returns. If you know that you’ve underreported income in the past, you definitely want to keep your IRS paperwork for 6 years, as the IRS has more time to audit for filers who underreport income. Use colorful folders to help organize these statements. Office Depot has great organization tools that also add a little fun to a traditionally boring task, like See Jane Work products. They will help to add a stylish twist to your space!
Don’t Toss, Shred. A shredder is a must-have for any home office, especially around tax season when you’re filtering through all your paperwork and deciding what stays and what goes. A mistake many households still make is failing to shred documents with sensitive information such as their credit card information, social security number, address, etc.
For more info on all these helpful products and services check out OfficeDepot.com/tax.
