2008 Tax Time Tune Up Checklist

Tips excerpted from the revised 2008 book "How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain"

Save yourself money and stress by using these quick tips to get a jumpstart on your taxes. Tune up your own paper file system, or use the file system kits to make sure this year goes better than last April 15!

Simplify Your Taxes Paper Tips:

Get an archive box or file crate to hold all your last year´s tax-related files and forms.

Write the Year, Begin Date and Beginning Check Number on the outside of your check register. If more than one, number the registers to make it easier to find the right one. Full registers go in your tax box by year.

While sorting your mail put all 1099´s, W-2´s, and any tax-related material into your tax box. Use color accordion file folders in your "tax box" for incoming tax documents.

Have a good filing system, but getting bogged down in old records? Pull last year´s financial files, any business expenses, proof of income and any tax related items.

While you are taking old files out, make the replacement new file folders for all of your regular home and business or personal financial and legal documents.

If you have no working filing system for your home or business, I recommend you sort out last year´s papers for taxes and archiving after setting up the FileSolutions ® color-coded pre-printed file system kit for this year that fits your needs.

I use the Home and Small Business file kits in my own business. That makes it easy for me to guarantee your satisfaction. You can check out the file kits at: http://www.organizer-extraordinaire.com/cart/index.php?cPath=1

Computer Tax Preparation Tips:

With tax preparation software, you can finish your federal and state returns in about 90 minutes—if you´ve completed the steps above. I use TurboTax to do my own taxes. Then, I have a tax professional check my return for less money than it would have cost me to have my taxes entirely prepared by a CPA.

You can use Intuit´s TurboTax program online http://www.taxfreedom.com for FREE if:

You qualify for Earned Income Tax Credit

OR You were age 62 or older

OR You were age 22 or younger

OR You served active Military duty (including Reservists & National Guard).

I don´t recommend preparing your taxes online. True, the current 128-bit security used in most web browsers means that the information you transmit through online forms is less vulnerable to hackers than it was in previous years.

I´m not comfortable putting my private information "out there" over the time it takes to prepare my return. The sense of security I get from knowing that my information stays on my own computer is worth the $29.95 cost of TurboTax.

On the other hand, my favorite CPA, recommends filing your taxes electronically. This saves paper and long lines at the post office on April 15. Both the service provider doing the filing and the IRS check the return for errors before you send it. And you may even be able to do it for free. For more information, see the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/efile/.

Computer Accounting Program Tax Tips:

Whichever financial software you use (Quicken, QuickBooks, Microsoft Money), print out your register for last year. Add it to your tax archives in the same way you would put in your checkbook registers.

BACK UP your year-end accounting data.

Make a backup copy of the software itself from your original installation CDs and save it in the same box you archive your data. This is critical if you upgrade your financial software, or you switch from one program to another.

My financial advisor recommends printing out reports you use for taxes and checking for any errors or missing deductions by tax category. Catching mistakes and fixing them now is a lot easier than on April 14th!

After April 15th tax tips:

Archive all tax-related files for the previous year from your active files into an available archive box. Mark each archive box on the outside by tax year(s). Put a printout of your calendar/date book and phone message book in the tax archive box – it´s all proof of business use.

Place the archive box with prior records into storage after putting all related tax backup documentation into it. Include a copy of the tax return itself, as well as the essential 1099s, W-2s etc.

Use these tips and you´ll never again end up saying, "I can´t stand to do my taxes this same crazy way ever again!" Less aggravation means fewer errors and a better result – even if you do have to pay the taxman instead of getting a refund.

If you like, sign up for my productivity tips ezine at: http://www.ABrainNewWaytoWork.com/subscribe.html

Year Round Tax Tips:

Select which credit cards you will use only for business, household, and personal. Keep one card for web transactions only. Keeping only one credit card for web use limits your exposure to fraud.

At month end, use your credit card statements, auto/ transaction log and checkbook to track expenses for your ledger or computer program instead of chasing all the receipts. Between those and your bank statements, you´ll get a quick review of your current month´s financial status.

Keep a transaction log for auto mileage and miscellaneous transactions. You must have a log to deduct auto expenses, and if you have a log the IRS does not require that you keep receipts for expenses under $75.00. If tiny log booklets don´t work for you, copy the Master Log at www.organizer-extraordinaire.com/TaxTimeTips.pdf

You can easily set up your handheld device (e.g., Palm Pilot, iPhone) with an Expenses Notes section to record your business expenses.