It’s that time of year again—tax season! Whether you’re anticipating a hefty return or having to write a check to the government, taxes have to be filed. Here are some tips to help your appointment with your tax accountant go smoothly and to make the process as painless as possible.
Get Your Paperwork in Order
In preparation for an appointment with your San Diego tax accountant, you should gather all of the documents that will be required for your accountant to file your return. For most people, these documents include:
- A W2 from your employer
- 1099s from any Social Security benefits you received, interest received, or any work you did that wasn’t for an employer
- Schedule K-1s that indicate how much you earned (or lost) from any businesses in which you have ownership
- Proof of health insurance
- 1098s
- Receipts for any business write-offs, charitable gifts, state and local taxes you paid (including property taxes and DMV fees), and medical expenses (for the 2018 tax year, you can deduct medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income)
If you bought or sold a house during the tax year, you’ll also need to provide information regarding those transactions.
Many documents nowadays are sent out via email. If you don’t want to print them all out, make sure you consolidate all of the digital documents in one place to give to your accountant, such as on a thumb drive or in a zipped file that you email to your accountant.
Failure to provide your accountant with all the necessary documents will mean they will have to contact you to hunt down the documents they need to complete your return. This could lead to higher fees and a delay in your return’s completion.
Make Sure All of the Documents Received Match Your Records
People make mistakes sometimes. Check all of the documents your received from various companies and charitable organizations to make sure they are accurate. If they aren’t, contact the company as soon as possible to get it fixed. Also, if you didn’t get a form or statement that you’ll need for your tax return to be completed, contact the applicable organization to get one issued before your tax appointment.
Have All of Your Personal Information on Hand
If this is the first time you are using a particular accountant, they will need a lot of personal information from you, including things like the Social Security numbers for you and all of the dependents you’re claiming, the addresses of any properties you own, and your bank account information (including a routing number) if you expect to get a refund and want it deposited directly into your account.
If you haven’t already found a San Diego tax accountant to file this year’s tax return, don’t wait too much longer to find one and make an appointment. The longer you wait, the busier they will get. Take a look at the accountants in our San Diego business directory for some options to consider.
