5 Ways to Get Organized for Tax Season

Are you looking to get a head start on tax season for this year or next?

Do you want some practical tips you can put into action, right here, right now.

Tax season is a necessary part of life.

It’s a regular occurrence that always comes and goes every single year.

You know what to expect, but that doesn’t stop you from procrastinating.

To make matters worse, you find yourself scrambling to locate important information.

What’s a person to do?

The good news is you don’t necessarily have to wait for tax season to arrive to begin putting things in order.

In this post, you’ll find a collection of five simple ways you can get organized for tax season.

Make a tax document file folder.

You know those tax documents you receive in the mail?

The best way to manage these documents is to create a dedicated folder for them.

Take a manila folder and label it “Tax Documents.” You can also add the calendar year to your label as in, “Tax Documents 20XX”

Next, locate all the tax documents you’ve received in the mail recently, such as salary, income, or investment documents, and place them inside the folder.

You should also round up any physical tax documents you’ve had on had for some time and place these items in the folder as well.

The next step is store your folder in a safe location, such as in a filing cabinet, file holder on top of your desk, or a desk drawer.

If you received electronic tax documents, now would be a good time to print out hard copies, and place those copies in your tax document file.

In addition to creating a physical file folder, you may also want to create a digital file tax folder on your computer to keep everything contained.

Round up your receipts.

Collecting relevant receipts now will save you from unnecessary headaches and frustrations later.

Find a manila folder, empty shoebox, or document box. You’re going to store all of your receipts in this one container.

Next, empty out all of the receipts in your purse or wallet into the box.

When you’re finished with that, walk around your home or office in search of receipts.

Look both high and low, in drawers, on top of counters or desks, in piles of papers, and so on.

Take whatever you find, and place them into your receipt box.

Organize your receipts.

It doesn’t matter if you prepare your taxes yourself, or if you have your accountant or qualified tax preparer do so.

A little bit of organization makes everyone’s life a little easier!

How should you go about organizing receipts? Well, the basic premise is as follows: sort like items with like, and then arrange items chronologically.

Let’s say you own your own business and have a collection of office supply, client lunch, and travel expense receipts.

Everything’s all jumbled together. All you have to do is process the receipts one at a time, sorting them into their respective categories.

Once you’re finished with that, you can go through each category pile, and then organize that pile by chronologic order, from January to December.

Declutter your desk.

A cluttered workstation can slow down the tax preparation process.

You shouldn’t have to wrestle with or be distracted by miscellaneous papers, files, supplies, and lists.

Now is a great time to place those old project files into the archive section of your filing cabinet and properly store office supplies in your drawer or desktop organizers.

You can also relocate books, magazines, and other paper materials to shelves, bookcases, or bins.

Schedule tax preparation time into your calendar.

Schedule a time to do your taxes? Yup, you read that correctly.

Scheduling tax preparation into your calendar not only mentally prepares you for the task to come, but ensures you’ll actually have the time to work on your taxes.

That’s a much better option than waiting until the very last-minute, and trying to squeeze the task into a jam-packed schedule.

Keep in mind, the above tip is meant for those who prepare their own taxes.

If you work with, or would rather have your taxes prepared by qualified tax preparer, pick up the phone or send an email ASAP to schedule an appointment. You’ll be glad you did.

How about you? How do you get yourself organized for tax season? Do you have any tips or tricks that you’d like to share? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!

5 Unexpected Things You Need to Organize a Work Notebook Mockup
About the Author

Rashelle

Rashelle Isip is a New York City-based productivity consultant who helps successful entrepreneurs and business owners manage their time and energy so they can reduce stress, work less, and make more money in their businesses. She has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, NBC News, The Washington Post, NPR, and The Atlantic. Get her free guide, 5 Unexpected Things You Need to Organize a Work Notebook, by clicking here.

2 Comments

  1. Meagan

    These are really great ideas to get organized. Tax season can be a frustrating time for anyone. It can be a little easier on the mind if your documents and receipts are all in a specific place where you know to locate them. I love the tips you have shared to keep everything organized.

    Reply
    • Rashelle

      Thanks, Meagan. Having papers in place certainly can make preparing taxes a little less painful. Thanks for reading and for your comment.

      Reply

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