Taming Tax Season

Sending your tax materials in each year can be a daunting process.  “Where did I put that Form 1099? Did it come in yet?” I have three copies of the same document what do I do?”  Listed below are seven tips to help insure a smooth tax season:

1. Designate a central location to store all incoming tax materials such as a box or large envelope.  If you get duplicates feel free to send us both. We can determine which document is most recent and use that document.
2. Complete and sign the Tax Organizer form as legibly as possible– We know that the organizer is quite lengthy for some of our clients.  You do not need to complete the entire organizer.  Instead complete the first 8-10 pages and provide us with your original tax documents.  This will save you some time and we can refer to the tax documents for the details.
3. We also ask that you complete certain organizer pages if you own a small business or have rental real estate instead of providing a shoe box of receipts.  Also please list the nature of the expense vs. the name of the party that you paid, i.e. “electrical repair” instead of “Joe Smith”
4. Be sure to include cost basis information if you sold stock.  You may be able to obtain this on line or by calling your broker.
5. Improperly listing estimated tax payments is the number one cause of tax notices.  Include the amount paid, date paid, tax year and quarter, check number, and payee.  Please be sure to list the details for the period 1/1/10 through 1/15/11 to properly identify all tax payments.
6. Provide totals of charitable contributions instead of providing a stack of receipts.  Please be sure to indicate if the contributions were cash, check or donated property.
7. Deliver your tax information to us as soon as possible and ideally no later than March 10^th.   Some data may arrive later but send in the bulk of your information prior to March 10^th, accumulate the second wave of information into one stack, and send it in at the end of March

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact:

Loretta Manning, CPA
302-656-6632
LManning@CoverRossiter.com