Being well prepared & organized will minimize
your
tax preparation fees
Come to your tax interview prepared - Failing to bring
a crucial documents and/or information to the tax interview causes us additonal
unnecessary time spent on phone calls and/or correspondence in an effort to
get the information we need to complete the return. Additionally, this causes
a delay in completion of your tax return. Here is a list of some of the most common
items necessary to properly complete an individual tax return:
- Bring the organizer we mailed to you
- Even if you don't write anything in it yourself we will use it during
your tax interview.
- Real estate transactions - Please bring a copy of
the closing escrow statement for the sale of the property and a copy of
the Form 1099-S which is usually issued by the escrow company if it is a
rental property or a residence selling for more than $500,000. It is also
helpful to have a copy of the closing escrow statement for the property
when it was originally purchased, but if this is not possible at least the
details such as date and amount of purchase.
- Stock/bond transactions - Please bring the year-end
statement for any brokerage accounts you have. This statement will usually
include the Forms 1099-DIV, 1099-INT & 1099-B issued by you broker (you
may receive these as separate forms). If you sold any securities during
the year supply us with the date and amount of purchase. It is very helpful if you can get a copy of the Statement of Realized Gains & Losses which list all the sales made during the year as well as the original cost basis.
- Business - Please bring a profit & loss statement
for your business such as that produced by Quickbooks software and/or
enter expense item amounts in the business page of your tax organizer we
mailed to you. It is very important that your bookkeeping is done properly. Most successful business have accurate and efficient bookkeeping systems. Please contact us if you need assistance with setting up Quickbooks or training. If you purchased any equipment during the year we need the
type of equipment, cost and date(s) it was purchased. Also, bring any Form
1099-MISC's you may have received from your customers/clients. If you have
employees, it is helpful for us to have copies of the W-2's and year-end
payroll returns (DE7 & 940) which were filed for the business.
- Mortgage interest - Please bring any Form 1098's you
received. You should have received a Form 1098 if you paid mortgage interest
to a financial institution on a loan secured by real estate used as a residence
or a rental property. These amounts are reported to the IRS so by us having
a copy it will insure that your tax return is not flagged because the deduction
on your return does not match the IRS computer records.
- Charitable contribution - If you made non-cash contributions
of large items such as a car or furniture with a current fair market value
over $500 we need specific information re: the gift such as the name and
address of the charitable organization, the date of the donation & a
complete description of the item(s).