Tax time is my favorite time of the year, NOT! It always catches me off guard. We run a few businesses and now this past year I started my blog. I have not been a good little accountant; I haven’t taken care of the financial stuff as well as I should have! I always sit down and work on all my tax information over 1-2 days and then say “This year will be different! This year I’ll stay on top of it every month.” Um yeah, that still never happens. Well, this year WILL be different! I was given two items by SMEAD to help keep me ready for tax season all year long. They sent me the Tax Organizer File Folder and the 12 Pocket Expanding file.
“This six-pocket Tax Organizer makes tax preparation a breeze. Simple instructions and a checklist are printed on the inside front cover. There are printed and blank labels included for easy filing. The Tax Organizer features secure pockets for safe transport.”
The tax checklist tells you what items you should be keeping in this folder to help you file your taxes quickly and easily the following year. There are preprinted stickers included to help you label your tabs and keep things where they need to be. (Unlike me who is searching all over her completely disorganized office trying to find vehicle registration from last year!) Items to keep in the folder:
INCOME: 1099s, Business Income, Federal return from last year, IRA/Pension Distribution, Other income, Social Security Benefits, State & Local tax return from last year, Unemployment paperwork.
DEDUCTIONS: Business/Job related expenses, Charitable donations, child care expenses, education expenses, IRA/SEP Contributions, Medical/Dental/Vision expense, Mortgage Interest, Real Estate Taxes, Self-Employment Insurance premiums, Tax preparation, and vehicle registration fees.
“Organize large amounts of paperwork that need to be transported quickly, or file material without a file cabinet. Number of pockets varies depending on your choice of indexing method. Elastic cord on flap adds security.”
They sent me the 12 month file. This will come in handy for me to organize all the bank statements from each month. I can also put an envelope in each month to keep the vital receipts that are needed for business purchases. I can also print out our monthly I-pass statements so I know what we’ve spent on tolls each month.
I’m actually looking forward to getting all this information organized. I’ve been spending a lot of time organizing since moving in. I have a long way to go, but it sure does feel good when everything has a place!
Tell me some of your tax organizational tips. Does tax time make you sweat? For more organizational ideas you can go to the SMEAD website. They have a nice article on getting ready for tax season. You can also connect with SMEAD on Facebook.
Buy It:
You can buy the Tax File at Office Depot
You can buy the Expanding file at Walmart
Disclosure: I am being compensated for participating in this assignment. All opinions are mine. I want to thank SMEAD and GetButtonedUp for allowing me to be a part of this campaign.
Thanks for sharing this. My husband keeps telling me to get an expanding file folder and I have yet to do it. I know it will help me, I just keep forgetting to pick one up.