Does doing your taxes feel too confusing? As you move forward with St Louis tax preparation, it can often help to break things down by asking a number of important questions. The answers help you to look at each issue on its own, which makes it all less overwhelming than trying to tackle the whole thing at the same time. These questions can help you get started.
1. How much can you write off?
For some people, there just are not that many write offs, but those who work for themselves or own their own businesses could have a lot. Even if you work for someone else, you can write off things like businesses expenses. If you traveled for work, for example, that’s a business expense that can be deducted from what you owe. Make a list of potential write-offs and tally up how much they all cost you. Be sure you have receipts and paperwork to back it up.
2. How have the laws changed?
It’s always a good idea to look at the changes to the tax laws. These are altered every so often, so you definitely don’t want to assume things are the same year in and year out. For example, in some areas, first-time home buyers were given a special credit that they could use during certain years. If you had never heard of this before, you may not get the credit, even if you bought a home during that year. It pays to know the laws and how they may have changed.
3. Do you have last year’s tax papers?
If can help the St Louis tax preparation process if you have the paperwork from a year ago. There are some numbers that you can use when filing to identify yourself. If you don’t have it – maybe you lost it, or maybe this is your first year filing at all – then you can file without it. You can streamline the process, though, if you get the previous year’s tax documents out and have them on hand.
4. Did you have any losses?
You can often get deductions for losses that you had. As noted above, money that you spent for work often counts for this purpose. However, you could also get credit if you had a loss on stocks and investments. It’s not going to get you enough money back to make up for what was lost, but it’s still worth reporting it. That money is lost either way, so you might as well get something out of it.
5. Did your filing status change?
Your filing status basically changes based on your family situation. If you were single last year and now you’re married, you may want to file together. Most couples do, as it helps them out the most. You can also file separately, though, even if you’re married. This is something couples may do when moving toward divorce. Be sure you know what options there are and which ones will work the best for you.
6. Are you reporting all of your income?
Don’t forget about any little sources of income. Having a garage sale likely doesn’t matter, but you must report it if you run a business or sell products on the side. If you make tips at work, you have to report those. Don’t just assume you only have to report what was earned at your main job, with your paychecks. You have to let the IRS know about all of your total income.