Tax Help

Everyone needs help with when it is tax time. With the US economy in the worst shape it has been in years, many people are facing the prospect of not being able to pay their taxes on time or at all. If you need tax help to avoid these problems you should read on.

Organizing your Tax Records

At the beginning of every year you should come up with a system to keep your organized. It is a good idea to get a small filing cabinet or even a small desktop filing box that you can keep folders in. Start a new folder for the year. An accordion-style file folder makes it easy to organize tax paperwork if you don't want to get a filing cabinet. The main thing is that you have one place to put all of your tax paperwork so it is easily accessible. You should put all tax related paperwork in this folder or folders all throughout the year. By keeping up with your paperwork a little at a time it will not be overwhelming when it comes time to file your taxes in April.

Know What Documents to Save

It is important to know exactly what tax documents you will need to keep to file your taxes or to get tax help from a tax preparer or CPA. If you keep a checklist or read and refer back to the list below you will easily be able to see what you need. Every person will need slightly different documents but there are some basic documents each person needs to keep or file.

• W2 forms from your place of employment
• 1099 forms if you are an independent contractor that made at least $600 during the tax year or if you won a prize from an online sweepstakes or the casino. You will need the 1099 because it will prove how much you earned
• Statements from stocks, mutual fund accounts, and other investment transactions
• Mortgage interest statements
• Property tax statements
• Statements for any real estate bought or sold
• A list of college expenses along with any receipts to prove it
• Receipts for any charitable donations
• Receipts for child care payments
• Receipts for any alimony paid or received
• Receipts for any union dues and professional association fees paid throughout the year

As noted, each person will need to save those tax documents that pertain to them. If you don't make a supplementary income then you won't need a 1099. If you don't pay child care or alimony then you won't need to provide those documents. Just use your best judgment when saving documents. Receipts, invoices, cancelled checks, pay stubs, etc are also very important to save because they are your proof of expenses you had to pay out.

Filing Your Income Taxes

Here's some tax help for you when you are filing your taxes. If you decide to file your own taxes then you might want to get some help from either the IRS. The IRS website offers free help for just about anything you need when it coming to filing your income tax return. You can prepare your taxes and electronically file your tax return for free using one of the IRS Free File websites. The IRS has teamed up with 19 companies to make tax preparation free or at a very low cost for most Americans. You must go directly to the IRS tax website to be able to get this tax help for free. If you go directly to the software companies themselves you will not be able to get help for free. Some of the free software available is H&R Block TaxCut, TaxEngine, eSmartTax, CompleteTax, TaxAct and 11 others.

The free tax programs will lead you through the process step-by-step and ask you the necessary questions to help you file your income tax. If you have all of your documentation in order and organized in that filing system you will know where everything is located and you won't have to look all over for your documents to file.

Tax time doesn't need to be stressful if you start early and get organized. And, if you need some tax help you can always rely on the IRS, free tax programs, or your local CPA or tax preparer to help you.