Today's post is kind of sponsored by America's Tax Service, of Martinez, California. They didn't give me money or anything, but they're really nice to me every time I show up there. Michelle and the rest of the office are wonderful people, and they do good work on taxes. If you're local, you should see if you can score a spot on their client list. Do it early, as they are quite popular.
I started going to a professional tax preparer a few years ago entirely because she was across the street and my boss at the costume shop used her service. It was a miracle. My refund went up more than ten times what it cost to hire her, and it was so much less stress. She seems to like me, too. though that might have a bit to do with the chex mix I deliver to the office (Seriously. Who knew that butter baked with carbs would be so powerful?) and the tiny people who come to visit the office with me (Tiny's big brown eyes have made her so many new friends in the last two years). I'm pretty sure that the other thing is that the organization of my tax stuff means she just plugs totals into boxes on the form instead of going through piles of receipts or shoeboxes labelled "Important Papers--Do Not Trash." The fact that I roll through her office in early February with the stuff probably helps, too.
It's no secret that I fear being a burden to people, and the tax office is no exception. I work very hard to make sure that Michelle and her other professionals only need about an hour to do my taxes. Here's my current system:
1. Buy an obnoxious, eye-catching file folder at the after-Christmas sales. I've had cartoon owls, giant neon damask, polka dots, stripes, you name it. Wave it around in front of your partner and introduce it as this year's sacred tax file. Every piece of paper that comes in an envelope labelled "Important Tax Documents" goes into the file--1099s, W-2s, interest statements, donation letters, etc. Toward the end of January, review the file for missing stuff, and start making calls. 1099s slip some people's memories, especially if you are their first or second contractor. If they file them late, they have to pay fines, which sucks, so dropping a reminder around the twentieth is not a terrible thing. Print out all those PDFs that the bank sent, too.
2. Spreadsheets. On a typical year, I have spreadsheets for mileage (with bridge toll), business expenses, donations, childcare, medical expenses, and non-1099 income. Since most of my expenditures were on the same credit card this year, I will just print out all my statements, then highlight the pertinent charges in different colored highlighters, then enter the information in the Excel. The process sounds daunting, but once you have the receipts, statements, and calendars lined up, it will take about three evenings. I keep them pretty simple, with columns for date, vendor, description, and amount. For the mileage, I have columns for date, location notes, bridge tolls, and total miles. I keep a sidebar of the mileage for my most common round trips to Pink Depford, Renaissance Fabrics, and the Cow Palace. Total everything on each sheet before printing them out--if nothing else, they are an amazing reality check on what is happening with the gigs.
3. Have everything before walking into the tax office. One time, I forgot one form, and Michelle had to refigure a bunch of stuff for me at a busier time. If I am trying to make someone's life easier as they do something wonderful for me, I need to make sure I have my stuff together. If it helps your situation, put a list on the inside of the file of all your employers (I anticipate four W2s, one or two 1099s, up to three interest statements, one mortgage statement, a couple statements from the retirement accounts we rolled over this year, and that chart that shows we all had health insurance for the whole year.
4. Walk into the tax preparer's office as early as possible. All your year-end forms are supposed to be sent to you by the end of the year, so there's very few reasons to not have your tax filing ready to roll by Valentine's Day. With the delays this year, I'm relaxing my plans to having things filed by the end of February if possible (though I haven't seen a single W2 yet!). If you've never experienced filing this early, I highly recommend it. The office is basically empty--you actually get to chit chat with your preparer and her colleagues. Everyone's in a better mood, because they're not working crazy overtime and no one is asking them for ludicrous favors yet ("If I swing by April 14 at 8 pm, it'll still file on time, right?"). Your refund comes through a lot faster, because there are fewer people in the queue, and you get that vaguely superior feeling of saying, "Oh, I filed the taxes over a month ago!" when your friends complain about needing to get their tax stuff together. I'm not vaguely superior at all, by the way. The truth of the matter is that I file as fast as I can because I know that if I let it sit, the folder will go missing, or I'll lose track of my receipts, or Tiny will make classy toddler art out of one of the W2s. If it's ready to go, just get it done.
5. Answer the emails and texts from the tax preparer immediately. If Michelle can't move forward until I send the girls' social security numbers, it's in my best interest to find the numbers and send them as soon as possible. She shouldn't have to chase after me. If I just take care of it immediately, I don't have to work as hard to remember to do it, and I need that memory space for high-priority stuff, like where I put my now-overdue library books and whether my children have enough socks for this week.
This year, I am sending all my tax stuff to Michelle in an email to cut down on in-person interaction, per her request. If it doesn't all fit, I will send it all on a thumb drive. They won't get to pass Tiny back and forth for baby cuddles while checking the paperwork, and there's not likely to be much time for chit chatting when I go in to sign the papers. It's disappointing, because I enjoy everyone over there, but I'm hopeful that next year will be better.
Until then, let's do what we can to make each other's lives better. I know we have it in us.
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