What Are Your Files Called?
If you have not already done so, now is the time to get all your papers assembled for preparing your 2012 tax returns. I make the process as simple as possible as many people fear this task.
With a little bit of pre-planning, you can get your paperwork in order without too much angst. Here are 4 tips to help you with both personal and business tax return preparation.
- Give your files meaningful names. What does “2012 Slips of Paper” mean to you? The name meant something to my client. Remember, it has to work for you, or what is put into place won’t work.
- Collect all your 1099s, K-1s, etc. and keep them with the rest of your tax paperwork.
- Schedule time on your calendar to get all your paperwork in order. If this is something you abhor doing, break the project into smaller time frames. Make sure you give yourself enough time to get through all your files.
- Schedule time with your accountant or whoever is preparing your tax returns (even if you are doing them yourself) and put that date on your calendar as well. This gives you a goal, knowing you have to get everything organized by a certain date.
It may be torture for you to do this as it was for this client of mine. In this particular situation, my client needed to get his paperwork for the years 2008 to 2012 in order for filing his tax returns. He committed two (2) hours every week for a couple of months. We went through every receipt that he had in his many folders (some of which were not named), discarded those receipts that were not required (e.g., grocery receipts), kept those receipts and credit card statements that were needed, developed spreadsheets to record the deductions necessary for his tax returns for these years, and created a folder for those receipts that will be required for tax deductions for 2013. The final result is that not only does my client have everything in order to go to his accountant to file his taxes for the past years, but he also has a process for recording this information for 2013 and beyond.
To help you prepare for 2013 and beyond, Barbara’s Brilliant Box System may help you so you do not have to go through the same stress year after year. With Barbara’s Brilliant Box System, you will be more efficient, more effective, and more productive. Think how much time you will save when everything is organized.
Now is the time to Go from Bedlam to Brilliance!!!
Please feel free to forward
Barbara Berman
856-912-0077
BB’s Clutter Solutions is located in Cherry Hill, NJ and serves New Jersey (north and south), Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania suburbs, and New York City. *Follow BB’s Clutter Solutions on twitter, we tweet when new articles are added to this site! 🙂
