The 5 Best Tax Organizing Supplies To Get You Prepared For Tax Season
It’s time to break out those Tax Organizing Supplies, tax season is almost upon us.
January 24th marks the start of the best time of the year (totally sarcastic) — tax season.
Did anyone else just get an immediate sense of dread?
Yeah, filing your taxes is no fun, but there are definitely some things you can do that will make filing your taxes just a little bit easier — and these Tax Organizing Supplies are a good start!
Are you one of those super-smart people who manages to do your own taxes every year? I applaud you, because I definitely wouldn’t even attempt to do my own taxes.
Maybe you are like me, and don’t trust yourself to do your taxes without messing something up. I have a professional CPA who has done my taxes for the last 15 years, and I wouldn’t trust anyone but her to complete my yearly taxes.
Your CPA just may hug your neck if you show up with all your paperwork organized. Using these Tax Organizing Supplies is a super start! The easier you can make their job, the better — for YOU and for THEM.
The more organized you can be, the more ahead of the game you will be!
Seriously, these Tax Organizing Supplies will make your tax life so much better. You will have everything you need right at your fingertips — no more searching through drawers, books, purses, and diaper bags for your receipts and tax documents.
The 5 Best Tax Organizing Supplies To Get You Prepared For Tax Season
The first thing you want to do is to make sure that you have an electronic backup of all your tax documents. I scan everything from receipts, to mileage reports, to the actual forms that the tax person might need.
Why have an electronic backup? Because you will have all your documents nice and tidy in one place. That way if you get (dun-dun-dun) Audited, you can quickly pull up your electronic record for the IRS.
p.s. If you DO get audited, the IRS will go back 3 or more years. If you have your returns nice and organized electronically at your fingertips, your life will be SO much easier.
- Desktop Scanner
Of course, there are app document scanners, but I’m always leery of a third party company being privy to my tax information.
It just makes more sense (to me) to use a Portable Document scanner, like this Brother Wireless Portable Compact Desktop Scanner, and keep your own records.
Besides, once you have your own desktop scanner, you can use it for so many things — over and over again. I use my scanner all the time.
When I transitioned from a traditional document scanner to a desktop scanner, my world was forever changed!
- Digital Storage
Once you scan your documents onto your computer using a desktop scanner, you definitely need to be able to back those documents up.
Trust me. I have made the grave mistake of not backing up my documents, and by some trick of fate, they somehow got deleted off my computer — no way to retrieve them. It is highly possible that it was me who accidentally trashed them.
You don’t know panic until you lose the only electronic copy — the only copy you had, period — of a valuable document.
The moral of the story — use a digital external drive — like this Toshiba Canvio Basics 1TB Portable External Hard Drive — to keep backup copies of your scanned documents.
- Filing Cabinet
Once you go through the anxiety of losing the only copy you had of a document, you will understand the need for keeping an organized paper copy of your tax return information.
Back in the day, I was able to keep all my tax information in an accordian style filing system — like this 24 Pocket, TriMagic Filing Box. It was excellent, and really did the trick for my personal taxes and documents.
I then, however, became a grownup, with an entire family’s worth of documents that I had to keep track of. My handy-dandy accordion box filing system didn’t cut it anymore.
I had to upgrade to a filing cabinet just like this 3-Drawer Metal Filing Cabinet. It goes right under your desk and even locks for your protection. Don’t worry, it’s not too big and bulky. It’s the perfect compact size for all your filing needs.
- Budget Tracker
Once you have a dedicated filing cabinet for all your paper documents, you will have somewhere to keep your Budget Tracker.
Yes, you should be using a budget tracker — like this Mead Expense Tracker, Budget Planner, Bill Organizer. It has worksheets to help you keep track of your expenses and cash flow, 12 monthly pockets to hold bills and receipts, and two clear folders to keep any other documents you will need.
Discover a flair for the financial. The sheets inside this Expense Tracker will help guide you toward a budget while the 12 monthly pockets can hold bills and receipts. You can also add bank statements and printouts using the Tech Lock rings or by tucking them into one of two clear folders.
Amazon
- Desktop Organizer
Perhaps my favorite of all the Tax Organizing Supplies is the Desktop Organizer.
Maybe I’m a bit of a freak. I have a little addiction to all the colored pens, colored Post-It Notes, and colored files, and this SimpleHouseware Stackable, 5 Compartment, Step File Organizer is a great place to store them.
Not only is it an awesome place to hold all those fun desktop colored accessories in an organized fashion, it is a fantastic way to keep track of those odd papers and receipts that you don’t have time to immediately file away in your brand new filing cabinet.
When Is Tax Day 2022?
While tax season starts on January 24th, you have several months to get your documents ready. The IRS has extended the date taxes are due this year to April 18th.
Now, this April 18th deadline is for most Americans, but as with most things, there are exceptions.
The filing deadline to submit 2021 tax returns or an extension to file and pay tax owed is Monday, April 18, 2022, for most taxpayers. By law, Washington, D.C., holidays impact tax deadlines for everyone in the same way federal holidays do. The due date is April 18, instead of April 15, because of the Emancipation Day holiday in the District of Columbia for everyone except taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts. Taxpayers in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 19, 2022, to file their returns due to the Patriots’ Day holiday in those states. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Monday, October 17, 2022, to file.
IRS
So, take advantage of all the tax organizing supplies, get your documents ready, and make sure you get your taxes completed and filed by April 18th.
