Believe it or not, tax season is officially here. While it is completely understandable to avoid thinking about taxes until you absolutely have to, taking a few preemptive steps can keep you organized and help reduce stress. Whether you file your taxes using tax software yourself or work with a tax professional, check out the tips below to confidently tackle your taxes this year.
Step #1: Gather all of your forms & documents
Prevent last-minute scrambling by organizing all your tax documents. Here’s a summary of the tax documents and the information you’ll need:
- W-2s (from your workplace)
- SSA-1099 (summary of Social Security benefits)
- 1099s (if you have additional income, interest, gains/ losses)
- 1099-Rs (if you receive income from pensions, annuities, and retirement accounts)
- 1095-A (if you have government marketplace health coverage)
- 1098s (students receive a summary that reports interest and tuition payments)
- W-2Gs ( if you have gambling winnings, yes, you also need to report this)
- Schedule K-1s ( used for partnership income, trust income, and company ownership)
- Letter 6419 – ( if you have children, this reports Advance Child Tax Credit Payments)
- Letter 6475 – (if you received any federal stimulus payments, this reports the Economic Impact (stimulus) Payment)
Step #2: Schedule out a date to file
Remember the deadline to submit your taxes is April 18, 2022.…
