By Evan Vitale
Although it’s only the middle of February – and Valentine’s Day might be on your mind – you don’t want to wait too long when it comes to preparing and filing your individual tax returns.
Now, if you own a business, I’m hoping you’re already on your way in getting a few things off to your accountant so he/she can have plenty of time. It’s an entirely different ball of wax when it comes to business tax returns. A delay here can cost you plenty in penalties and fees.
On the individual side of things, by now you probably know what you need to do. Make sure you have the proper forms from your employer(s) and your other necessary paperwork in place. Here are a few other things you may need to consider:
- Are you going to file online or in paper format?
- Do you think you’ll owe taxes this year or will you be expecting a refund?
- Make sure you have the necessary paperwork for your State, County and Local returns. You definitely don’t want to be out hunting for local paperwork on April 15th!
- Are you using software to file your return? If so, make sure it is updated. Again, don’t wait too late in either downloading an update or purchasing a software update. The longer you delay, the harder it will be in finding software at your local office supply store or in download speeds as you get closer and closer to tax deadline day.
- If you are printing out necessary tax returns, always make sure you have plenty of paper and printer toner on hand. Again, finding out you are out of ink will set your body into panic mode, especially on April 15th.
- Finally, depending on your location, you can always expect websites will be slow (or might get overloaded) and Internet speeds will also be slower the closer and closer you get to the tax deadline. Give yourself plenty of time in case of possible delays.
Do all the necessary groundwork now and plan to set aside some specific time on a specific day in order to get your tax returns completed and filed on time!
