TAKING THE TERROR OUT OF TAX TIME!
In years gone by, tax time had me shuffling through piles of paperwork looking for receipts.
My filing was pretty ho-hum!
Tired of how stressful this time of the year could be I came up with two simple ways to keep on top of it all.
I find filing a very tedious task and I really don’t have the need to tackle an electronic system, so this works well for me and might be the answer for you too.
This wont help you sail through this years return, but if you start now, next year will be a breeze.
STEP 1 – CREATE A TAX TIME EMAIL FOLDER
Almost all my bills and bank statements get delivered electronically. Very rarely do I ever get snail mail now.
In July last year I set up an email folder called Tax Time.
Every time I get an email that bears any significance to tax returns, I automatically sweep it in to my tax time folder.
If I make an online purchase that is tax deductible, I sweep the receipt across.
When I looked in the folder this week, I was amazed how much was in there that I would have forgotten about.
This also saves time and money on printing costs. I do my own tax returns so I don’t have to have a physical version of everything.
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STEP 2 – CREATE A TAX FOLDER
All you need is a ring binder and 12 large envelopes.
Label each envelope from July through to June.
Punch holes in each envelope and slip them into the ring binder.
Every time you make a purchase or donation that gives you a paper receipt, pop it in the envelope for each respective month.
If you love being super organised you can right the details on the front of the envelope and tally up as you go.
There are some things you simply don’t get receipts for such as using public transport to go to a tax deductible function and you pay with your Go-Card, simply right the details on the front of the envelope.
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When it comes time to do your return you only have two places to collect all the data from.
Whether you do it yourself or have an accountant take care of it for you, it will only take a few minutes and you will be ready to lodge and hopefully get a bigger refund as you won’t forget to make deductions because you can’t find your receipts.
How do you deal with tax time?
Sharing for #FYBF at With Some Grace
Some great tips here Nikki. I really need to start keeping more online records. I’m one of those folk who has piles of paper come tax time – eek! Wish me luck. Great post, thanks for the ideas for streamlining my financial records. (stopping by with #FYBF)
Oh gosh I think I need as much help as I can get. Every year I say I’m going to be more organised so thanks for these tips – going to jump a folder now and start!